The Kessel Run
by Xeno Sapian
Summary: There were TWO Spice Mines of Kessel! When the crew of the Ghost are sent to retrieve a holocron from the Maw nebula they have to navigate the infamous 'Kessel Run'. Fighting against both the Empire and smugglers, unlikely allies are found in the crew of the Millennium Falcon... Han Solo and his friend Chewbacca. (Latest update: Questions are answered and surprises lie in store..)
1. A Mysterious Commission

**Author's Note:** _This story is set some time after the events of the most recently broadcast _Star Wars Rebels_ episodes 'Empire Day' and 'Gathering Forces_'_. As such it makes no presumption as to the fate of Ezra Bridger's parents, but it does follow the established canon of the series and references events (such as the rescue of the Wookiees from Kessel) from the _'Spark of Rebellion'_ feature-length pilot. _

_I wanted to maintain the series' ambiguity regarding Hera and Kanan's relationship. It is never officially established whether Hera and Kanan are a couple (despite Hera repeatedly calling Kanan 'Love'), though it is strongly hinted at. Ezra's attraction to Sabine, however, is fairly obvious. Consequently, I thought it would be great fun to throw Han Solo into the mix and see what happens between the characters. But, I didn't want to skimp on the action scenes, so expect plenty of starship battles, blaster fights, double-crosses, and a few twists._

_Star Wars Rebels is produced by Lucasfilm and Lucasfilm Animation. I make no money from this story._

_Enjoy._

* * *

**_Dramatis personae_**

**Kanan Jarrus ****-** _Human male_

**Hera Syndulla ****-** _Twi'lek female_

**Ezra Bridger ****-** _Human male_

**Sabine Wren ****-** _Mandalorian female_

**Garazeb "Zeb" Orellios ****-** _Lasat male_

**C1-10P "Chopper" ****-** _Astromech droid_

**Han Solo ****-** _Human male_

**Chewbacca "Chewie" ****-** _Wookiee male_

**Hondo Ohnaka ****-** _Weequay male_

* * *

A long time ago in a galaxy far,

far away...

**STAR WARS REBELS**

**The Kessel Run: A Mysterious Commission**

**_Nar Shaddaa, Y'Toub System, Hutt Space – 50:30 Local Time – 04 BBY_**

As much as Hondo Ohnaka loved the chaotic urban sprawl of Nar Shaddaa – particularly the wanton anarchy and unregulated commerce that could make an ambitious man extremely wealthy – there was something to be said for the simple pleasure of escaping the all-encompassing grime of the city planet's surface and relaxing in the peaceful confines of a bar. And _The_ _Towering Spire_ was among his favourites.

_The_ _Towering Spire_ was an old style saloon in the decaying western quarter of the equatorial loading docks. Isolated from most of the criminal activity that plagued the city streets, and identified simply by a small poorly lit neon sign, _The Towering Spire _had become a relatively safe haven for some of the moon's more 'reputable' citizens. Or at the very least, those citizens who weren't affiliated with gangs.

Hondo swept through the bar's swing doors, endeavouring to suppress his natural swagger. He wasn't entirely successful. The conversation ceased abruptly as all eyes swung towards him; his plan to remain unobtrusive betrayed by his innate flare for a dramatic entrance.

The former pirate leader was sporting an elegant scarlet overcoat with armoured shoulder pads over supple leather boots, trousers, and a white shirt, his attire and swarthy scaled complexion making him look every inch the gentleman brigand. Two weequay subordinates clad in simple leathers followed him at a respectful distance. He waved his hand at them, silently ordering them to hang back.

The conversation in the bar gradually rose again as the clientele either lost interest in him, or decided he wasn't an immediate threat. Hondo scanned the room, looking for his contact.

It was a few seconds before he spied a figure sat huddled in a corner table booth, veiled in shadow. Cloaked and hooded, the contact's features were completely obscured, only a slim gloved hand was visible clasping a tall glass.

Hondo smiled and moved across the room to sit at the booth in the seat opposite the figure.

"Were you followed?" his contact demanded; the voice calm and authoritative, and unmistakably feminine.

"Have you ever known me to be careless?" Hondo replied, his heavy accent betraying his Sriluur roots. "I must say, I was surprised by your call. The last time we spoke you were… less than enthusiastic that we should meet again in public."

"Situations change, Hondo. I can't trust doing this over the comms. And I need your contacts. This is a business transaction. Nothing more."

"Things must be desperate if you're asking _me_ for help."

Hondo's contact cast a quick glance at his men watching them from the bar. "I don't recognise the men. What happened to your old bodyguards?"

Hondo waved his hand dismissively. "Oh, I had to let them go. I got them into a situation they couldn't handle. The details don't matter, but I needed to vacate a former client's premises rather more swiftly than they could run. They fell behind."

"Always looking out for number one, Ohnaka?"

"It's kept me alive up to this point."

"Don't even _think_ about crossing me," the woman warned in a low and deadly voice.

"Oh, I have better survival instincts than that," Hondo assured her. "Not that I don't enjoy your company, my dear, but we probably shouldn't be seen together for too long. What can old Hondo do for you?"

"I'm in need of a crew. To retrieve something for me. Something I can't reach myself. They have to be fast, experienced, reasonably honest, and, above all, dependable. I need _professionals_, Hondo."

"Oh, let me put your mind at rest, my dear: if there's one thing I can be guarantee it's that my contacts are _nothing but_ professionals…"

* * *

**_Starship Freighter 'Ghost', Planet Lothal, Lothal System – 08:00 Local Time_**

"You stinkin' pile of poodoo!"

"Your head's so empty a braintick would starve to death, ya dweezer!"

"Oh, blow it out your exhaust port, bantha breath!"

"Fedding vac-head!"

"Nerfherder!"

"_What is going on in here_?"

Hera, the _Ghost_'s Twi'lek pilot and owner, stormed into the cargo bay, fully expecting to see the bay's occupants locked in a death grip. Ezra, a young human of fifteen, and Zeb, the purple-skinned Lasat and ex Honour Guard from Lasan – _who really should know better!_ – were standing practically nose-to-nose while trading menacing insults. She glared accusingly at them, her light-green head tails twitching in annoyance. "Have you two got nothing better to do than throw curses at one another?" she fumed.

The pair grinned at Hera and each took a step back.

"Relax, Hera. Zeb's teaching me," Ezra explained.

"Teaching you? What are you talking…?" Hera glanced down, only now noticing the flash cards in their hands. "What exactly are you doing?"

"Ah, just brushing up the kid's vocabulary," Zeb growled happily. He turned back to Ezra and referred to his cards. "Alright, one more. If I was to use the expression 'Picking between One and Fourteen' what would it mean?"

"Choosing between two equally bad outcomes," Ezra said promptly. "The saying comes from the Lythos System where miners had to choose between working on fiery Lythos One or frozen Lythos Fourteen. It means you're in trouble no matter what you do."

"There you go!" Zeb congratulated. "Kid's a natural, Hera."

"This is a _lesson_?" Hera exclaimed.

"The more expressions from different parts of the galaxy the kid knows the more he can blend in with the crowd wherever we land. These are survival skills."

"When I told you to make yourself useful this isn't exactly what I had in mind, Zeb."

"We all gotta play to our strengths, Hera. And the kid's turning out to be one of my best students."

"How many students have you taught?" Ezra asked.

"Including you? One!" Zeb admitted.

Hera groaned in frustration and turned away from them, making for the cockpit, the bickering pair trailing behind her. "Where's Kanan? _He_ should be instructing you, Ezra!"

"He was taking a call," Ezra explained.

"Kanan!" Hera yelled.

"Yeah?" a voice responded.

The cockpit door slid open at the far end of the corridor and Kanan appeared. Brown haired and blue-eyed with a well groomed goatee on his chin, Kanan cut a dashing figure – a figure that Hera had appreciated ever since they'd first met. Behind him, 'Chopper', the white and orange Astromech droid, was nipping at his heels.

"Where have you been?" Hera asked Kanan.

"On the holocomm. I've been speaking with Hondo."

"Hondo?!" Hera exclaimed. "What does that old pirate want?"

"He's got a job for us. Simple recovery of an item. Get in. Get out. Get paid. Easy."

"It's never is easy when Hondo's involved. And need I remind you we're not mercenaries or pirates. We're soldiers, Kanan."

"Like I could forget. But he's paying handsomely for the item. Enough to fund our missions for a full solar year. But he's also got information. Details of Imperial Troop transports from Nar Shaddaa. He's willing to part with them once we complete the job. It's practically a free pass to the Empire's movements, Hera."

"Nothing comes for free, Love. Where's the job?"

"Well, that's the catch. It's at the heart of the Maw Nebula."

Hera's expression hardened. She folded her arms and gave Kanan a stern glare. "Are you talking about going through the _Kessel Run_?"

"Really?" a voice called from the far end of the corridor. A young woman in purple Mandalorian armour bolted from her room. Sabine Wren, her colourful mop of blue and gold hair contrasting sharply with her tan skin, sped towards them. "We're going to see the Kessel Run? Seriously?" She was practically bouncing on the spot.

"What's the big deal?" Ezra asked. "We've already seen Kessel. Place was a dump."

"We've been to _a_ Kessel, not _the_ Kessel," Hera replied.

"There's more than one?"

"Oh, yeah," Zeb replied ominously. "The planet we rescued the Wookiees from was renamed by the Empire years ago. But it's not the _original_ Kessel. The Empire wanted to instil fear in the slaves sent to the _New Kessel_ because…" Zeb paused and scowled. "Because the original is far worse!"

"So, what is the Kessel Run?" Ezra asked.

"Smuggler's route through the Maw Nebula," Zeb replied. "And not the safest part of the galaxy. You sure about this, Kanan?"

"It's nothing we can't handle," Kanan assured him.

"This information better be worth it," Hera muttered.

"Hondo's a pirate and an outlaw but his information is always good," Kanan replied.

"Oh, I've always wanted to see the Kessel Run!" Sabine enthused "And to paint it! I can see it now… Smuggler ships silhouetted against the vibrant colours of the dust clouds. Oh, this is going to be _sweet_!"

"You see what you've started," Hera accused Kanan.

But Sabine's enthusiasm was not abating. "I've heard that the fastest ship completed the run in just 13 parsecs."

"13 _parsecs_?" Ezra frowned in confusion. "Isn't a parsec a measurement of distance?"

"Well, yeah. Obviously," Sabine replied.

"I don't get it. How can the fastest _time_ be 13 parsecs?"

As one, the team turned and gave Ezra the _look_. They usually reserved it for when Ezra's knowledge of a particular subject came up wanting. It was an expression he knew all too well – mostly sympathetic, slightly condescending, and more than a little annoying.

"You don't know much about the Kessel Run, do you?" Sabine said cuttingly.

"Err… Not really," Ezra admitted.

Chopper emitted a slew of disparaging whistles.

"Well, it's not like there was a class about it on Lothal," Ezra replied.

Kanan smiled and grasped Ezra's shoulder. "Don't worry, kid. You're about to get first-hand experience."

* * *

Kanan gathered the team around the holographic game board in the rec room. After tapping away at the controls for a few seconds, a holoimage of a spectacular purple and blue hued nebula materialised in the air above the board.

"This is the Maw Nebula," Kanan proclaimed. "A massive dust cloud in the Kessel Sector. It stretches from the planet Formos on the edge of the nebula all the way to Hutt Space." The holoimage changed to show a line of highlighted planets running along the edge of the dust cloud. "The official route skirts the nebula entirely allowing safe access to the trade corridor that travels into the very heart of the cloud, and to the _original_ Kessel."

The image changed again, zooming in to the nebula; a small, brown potato-shaped planetoid appeared in the air. "It's not much to look at but this planetoid is one of the most important trading posts in the galaxy." Kanan tapped away at the controls and a meandering route through the nebula from Kessel to the planet Formos was highlighted. "The smuggler's run is through an 18 parsecs stretch of the Nebula that completely bypasses the official trade routes and the Imperial patrols. _That_ is the Kessel Run."

Ezra pointed to a dark area on the holoimage close to Kessel. "Why don't the smugglers go through this area?" he asked.

"Because they'd be crazy to try," Hera replied.

"That's the Maw cluster," Kanan explained. "It's the largest collection of black holes in the known galaxy. Pilots avoid that area like the Rakghoul plague!"

"The safe route past the Maw – and I'm playing fast and loose with the word 'safe' – is through this Nebula arm." Hera pointed at a narrow corridor that was swarming with meteors. "It's a densely packed asteroid field known as The Pit!"

"Sounds charming!" Zeb muttered.

"You can't jump to hyperspace in the nebula," Kanan continued. "The only way through it is to navigate in realspace. That's 18 parsecs of _avoiding_ the black holes, asteroid fields, and Imperial convoys that patrol the area. Oh! And also while trying to stay out of the clutches of the other smugglers."

"Are there lots of smugglers using this route?" Ezra probed.

"Kid, it's like a free-for-all out there!" Zeb replied.

"What's so important about Kessel?"

"Its spice mines produce Glitterstim." Sabine explained to Ezra. "It's… mostly used by the medical industry."

"Yeah, _mostly_!" Zeb snorted.

"But that's not what interests us," Kanan explained. The image changed once more to show a blue and red octagonal holocron with ornate symbols carved into it. "Hondo wants us to retrieve this holocron. It's owned by one Roto Shar, the commander of the Imperial garrison in the capital city, Kessendra. He has an office in a building known as the Citadel."

"Security's pretty tight on the Citadel. Might be difficult," Sabine mused.

"We've broken into facilities way more heavily guarded than this," Kanan assured her.

"I still don't see how the fastest _time_ for the Kessel Run is 13 parsecs," Ezra groused.

"I didn't say fastest time, I said completed run," Sabine replied. "The Kessel Run is the safer long route around the black holes. But smugglers with a fast enough ship chance going through the Maw as a short-cut. Few of them make it. But if you're quick enough you can navigate through the black holes without getting caught in the gravitational pull. So the faster your ship, the fewer parsecs you need to complete the run."

"Not that we're going to risk doing that with the _Ghost_!" Hera said firmly. "Nice and safe for this mission."

Zeb rolled his eyes. "Well that's just great! So, if we don't get arrested by the Empire, we have the opportunity to crash into an asteroid, get killed by smugglers, or be compacted into a singularity. Why can't we go anywhere nice?"

* * *

**_Formos, Kessel Sector, Outer Rim Territories – 18:50 Local Time_**

The _Ghost_ came out of hyperspace into Formos's standard orbit, decelerating to more comfortable relativistic speeds. The image of Formos filled the cockpit canopy, the planet's sickly yellow-hued atmosphere and brown cloud formations making it look distinctly uninviting.

"There it is. Formos," Hera pointed. "Gateway to Kessel."

"Looks er… nice," Ezra commented.

"It looks like what it is. A hive of scum and villainy!" Kanan said.

Zeb nodded in agreement. "Yeah… But on the plus side they do great gornt-burgers there!" Kanan gave Zeb a cockeyed glare. Zeb shrugged. "What? It was a long trip. I'm hungry!"

The ship powered its way through the atmosphere. Hera brought the _Ghost_ into the main docking bay of Formos Spaceport. The VCX-100 freighter settled down gently onto its allocated berth, its landing rockets sending out jets of flame.

The crew emerged from the ship to be greeted by the planet's sweltering heat. Formos had been an industrialised world for millennia, but was starting to feel the effects of its rampant pollution. There was a significant build-up of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, but, unlike more prosperous developed worlds in the galaxy, Formos couldn't afford the costly atmospheric purifiers that kept the greenhouse effect at bay. A few more centuries of industrialisation and the air on Formos would likely become unbreathable.

Kanan led the team down the boarding ramp into the vast open-air docking bay. It was crammed with freighters and starships from all over the galaxy; though most were of Correlian design, nearly all of them displayed evidence of carbon-scoring or blaster damage that served as testaments to their violent past.

"Remember," Kanan began, "we don't want to draw attention to ourselves. So, we need to blend in with the crowd. We're smugglers making the run just like everyone else here."

"Don't think much of the competition," Zeb commented, nodding towards the freighter on the adjacent landing pad.

In the next berth stood a Corellian-made YT-1300 light freighter. Saucer shaped, with a starboard mounted cockpit and two triangular mandibles mounted on the front, the freighter's battered grey hull was rusted and littered with battle-scars that left little doubt as to the owner's occupation.

Hera wrinkled her nose at the sight of a ship in such a neglected state, while Chopper warbled a few contemptuous beeps.

"What'd he say?" Zeb asked.

"He said 'What a heap of junk!'" Sabine translated.

"Well, I guess he'd know junk when he sees it!" Ezra joked, and promptly yelped as he got a shock from Chopper's charge arm.

The crew weaved through the crowds towards the hub of the spaceport: The _Grand Nebulae_ cantina.

A rodian bouncer was standing watch at the doors when they arrived, looking people up and down before waving them through. He turned his gaze upon the _Ghost_'s crew and held up one meaty fist.

"We don't want any droids!" the bouncer snarled.

"What's that?" Zeb growled in response.

"We don't serve droids here. You'll have to leave it outside."

Zeb cracked his knuckles. "Where we go, he goes…" he began, but Kanan quickly stepped forward to calm the Lasat.

"We're not here to cause trouble," he reminded Zeb. "And we don't want to draw any unnecessary attention. For the moment, we'll play along." Kanan turned to the little Astromech. "Chopper, you'd better go wait on the ship." Chopper squawked and tweeted indignantly. "Yeah, I know, I know. It's just for the time being. We won't be here long,"

Chopper gave a final loud trill of annoyance, accompanied by a few unseemly gestures directed at the bouncer with his maintenance arms, before he spun and moved off towards the docking area, wittering to himself heatedly.

"I'm really starting to hate this place," Zeb muttered as the bouncer waved them inside.

It was clear as soon as they walked in that the _Grand Nebulae_ cantina was wildly overselling itself. The place was a dive!

The bar was cloaked in a perpetual neon gloom. A Twi'lek singer with a reedy voice was singing a forgettable song. Seedy looking figures skulked in the shadowy corners of the room as they talked in hushed tones. To cap it off, the place reeked of stale alcohol.

"When does happy hour start?" Zeb asked the rotund human behind the bar.

"It never ends!" the barman replied in a low voice. "You guys doing the run to Kessel?"

"Why would you think that?" Kanan hedged.

"All Runners got to register."

"What? You have a register for this?" Sabine asked in astonishment. "That's seems very… organised."

The human barman leaned forward, the light illuminating his scarred right cheek and blind eye. "We're not going to send you all off in one go, now are we?" he growled. "Imperials get suspicious if they see more than a few ships at a time 'round Kessel. There's a schedule for safe transit. You stick to that schedule or you risk exposing everyone's run. You do that and you get on our bad side. And there ain't nothing more deadly than an army of smugglers out gunning for you. We don't play nice, girl!"

The crew looked around the bar. The room had fallen silent as all eyes watched the group carefully.

"Where do we register?" Kanan asked diplomatically.

The barman jerked his thumb over his shoulder. "Back room." He pointed at Kanan and Zeb. "Only two of you. Leave the youngsters."

"It's my ship!" Hera protested.

"And it's our rules!" the barman replied. "Obey them or leave. Problem?"

"No problem. We'll go," Kanan assured him. He turned to Hera. "We won't be long. Hold the fort."

"Just like always," Hera replied.

She watched Kanan and Zeb retire to the back room.

"Can I get you something?" the barman asked.

Hera ordered three Lopez softdrinks for herself, Ezra and Sabine. Once they had their drinks the two teenagers moved off towards the novacrown machines in the corner. Hera toyed with the ides of following them, but thought better of it, deciding instead to stubbornly remain at the bar watching the back room. She glanced around, acutely aware of the many eyes watching her from the darkness. It was rare enough to see a Twi'lek pilot, but a Twi'lek _owner _of a ship was doubly unusual. She half expected at to be approached by one of the lowlifes in the room, and, as it turned out, she didn't have to wait long before someone did.

"It should be a crime for a beautiful woman to drink alone," a voice behind her said.

Hera rolled her eyes and turned to face the speaker.

Behind her stood a human man dressed in a cream shirt, cut low in the chest, and wearing a black waistcoat. He had a pair of dark blue trousers with a blaster pistol strapped to his thigh and tall black boots. He was clean shaven and boyishly handsome with strong features. Only a small scar on his chin marred his face, making Hera wonder idly how he'd got it. He looked every inch the rogue, and, much like Kanan, just a shade dashing.

"Oh, I never drink alone," Hera replied. "I have this for company." She pulled out her own blaster pistol and placed it on the bar.

"A woman after my own heart," the man chuckled, tapping his side-arm. "It's not every day a pilot as… accomplished as yourself graces us poor slobs with her presence."

"You obviously haven't been frequenting the right bars. You should get out more often."

"I'll take it under advisement," the man agreed. He raised his glass in greeting. "I'm Han Solo. Captain of the _Millennium Falcon_."


	2. Making the Run

A long time ago in a galaxy far,

far away….

**STAR WARS REBELS**

**The Kessel Run: Making the Run**

**_Grand Nebulae Cantina, Formos, Kessel Sector, Outer Rim Territories – 19:20 Local Time – 04 BBY_**

Hera studied the human male standing beside her.

He was a rogue, there was no doubt about that, but he had a certain _aura_ that set him apart from the other lowlifes in the cantina, and the way he held himself suggested a laissez-faire attitude to life. He radiated confidence, and his clothes practically screamed 'smuggler', though his boots were of imperial make. Comfortable and sturdy, the footwear probably hinted at his past life. Hera doubted he'd always been a smuggler, just as Hera had not always been a freedom fighter. Life in the galaxy was a constant struggle and Hera, like so many others, had been forged by her experiences. It was possible the course of this man's life had changed dramatically under the yoke of Imperial oppression.

Hera gazed at his face, looking him directly in the eyes. While undeniably steely, there was also strange warmth there; a veiled sincerity that suggested he was a safe person to be around.

_Probably safer than the rest of the patrons in this dive, at least_!

"_Han_?" she repeated, rolling the name around her mouth. "I like it. It's nice and simple."

"Suits my personality," the man replied with an easy grin.

"Really?"

"So I've been told."

"Yeah," Hera agreed. "It's easy to remember, too."

"I do tend to stick in the memory."

Hera gave a faint smile. "I'm sure you do."

Han glanced around the cantina. "Compared to the rest of us poor slobs, though, I can guarantee that you're the most striking pilot on the entire planet."

Hera's gaze fell on a vicious looking Trandoshan male on the other side of the bar, his green skin littered with scars and a gaping hole where his left eye should have been. "I don't know, the guy with the lazy eye is fairly striking."

"He couldn't hold a candle to you," Han assured her.

Hera lips curled into a wry smirk. "And do all the pilots fall for that line?"

"No idea. I've never tried it on him!"

Hera couldn't help but grin. "Yeah, he probably wouldn't appreciate it."

"Plus, he's really not my type." Han took a swig of his drink. "Do you have a name, or should I make a guess?"

She hesitated, mentally debating whether to use a false name before replying, "Hera."

Han gave an approving nod. "Well, Hera, I'm assuming you've graced this backwater burg with your presence to do the Run?" Hera nodded. Han leaned forward slightly and lowered his voice. "A word of advice: While you're in the Nebula, don't stop for any reason, don't let your shields down, don't dock with another ship, and above all, don't trust anyone. Not all of the crews here are as welcoming to newcomers. Some of them target ships coming _back_ from the run for their cargo. They're considered easy pickings."

"Have you ever been targeted?" Hera asked softly.

"Me? Oh, I'm sure they'd love the chance to board the _Falcon_, but they've never been able to catch me. I've outrun Imperial Destroyers; I can run rings around the local freighters. The _Millennium Falcon_ is the fastest ship in this sector."

"That's a proud boast."

"Not a boast if it's true," Han replied. "I'm serious, though: Be careful out there. And if you have the chance, don't hesitate to shoot first."

"I'll take it under advisement," Hera promised.

At that moment a third voice joined the conversation.

"I've got the passcode for Kessel. We leave in an hour…" Kanan declared from Hera's left. He stopped and stared when he noticed Han. "Am I interrupting?"

Solo looked up at Kanan. "Friend of yours?" he asked Hera.

"You could say that," Kanan replied pointedly. Sabine, Ezra and Zeb appeared behind him. Sabine appeared to perk up considerably when she saw Han, while Kanan glared at him suspiciously. "We can't help you if you're looking for work. We don't need any more ship hands. All positions have been taken."

"So what would yours be?" Solo asked Kanan. "First Mate or Cabin Boy?"

Kanan bristled, drawing himself up to his full height.

"Who's this joker?" Zeb snarled as he jerked his thumb at Han.

"Your crew? Looks like you brought the family along," Han observed as his eyes swept over Sabine and Ezra, his gaze falling on Zeb. "And the babysitter!"

"Hey!" Zeb exclaimed.

A shadow fell across the group. To Han's right, a wall of fur had suddenly appeared, blotting out the meagre light from the cantina's ceiling lights. A Wookiee was looming protectively over Han's shoulder.

"Nice bo-rifle." Han nodded at Zeb, indicating the weapon slung across Zeb's back. "I thought the Honour Guard of Lasan were the only ones allowed to carry those."

"What's it to you?" Zeb challenged, his outburst prompting a warning growl from the Wookiee. "Oh, 'Grraaah' yourself, ya overgrown furball!" Zeb snapped.

Han casually raised his hand to calm the Wookiee. "Easy, Chewie." Then he turned to Hera. "We're heading out. But if you ever want a tour of the _Falcon_, you only have to ask."

"I don't think that's likely," Hera replied. "But thanks all the same."

"My pleasure," Han winked at her.

"See you around, Captain," she replied as he led the Wookiee across the bar.

"You okay?" Kanan asked Hera with concern. "What did _he_ want?"

"He was offering some friendly advice, that's all," Hera replied simply.

"We don't need advice from a smuggler," Kanan said firmly. "Guys like that are nothing but trouble."

"I don't know, he had a couple of redeeming features…" Hera craned her neck to watch Solo walk away.

Kanan cleared his throat and fixed Hera with an accusing glare. "Ahem!"

Hera grinned ruefully. "What? Can't a girl window shop?"

* * *

The _Ghost_'s crew wandered back to their ship, tailed by three individuals who evidently weren't well-versed in the art of subterfuge.

"We've got a shadow," Sabine murmured to the rest of the team.

"Yeah, I see them," Kanan replied quietly. "They were in the cantina. A Transdoshan and two Feeorins."

"Not exactly being subtle about it," Ezra commented, glancing back casually at the three followers. "They're standing out like a Krayt Dragon in a herd of banthas.

"A Tatooine expression." Zeb nodded approvingly. "Nice. I never even taught you that one."

"I'm a fast study," Ezra said proudly.

Hera led them back through the Spaceport Docking Bay. "Come on, let's get back to the _Ghost_. Chopper's probably going nuts being left all alone."

"Yeah, we should probably have cracked a window open for him!" Zeb joked.

Several metres behind the crew, and failing miserably to remain unobtrusive, the three smugglers blatantly stared as the Ghost's crew walked up their ship's boarding ramp.

"Greenhornssss! Amateursss," the reptilian Transdoshan hissed to his fellow smugglers. "We wait for them in the nebula. Ambusssh them when they return from Kesssel," He grinned, his snake-like mouth splitting into a wide grimace. "Eassy pickingsss!"

* * *

The Ghost lifted off from the landing pad and powered out of Formos' atmosphere.

Hera and Kanan sat at the helm, guiding the craft towards the vast expanse of the Maw Nebula. The immense dust cloud stretched out before them like a cosmic wall, filling the view screen. Hera slowed the Ghost and entered the Nebula with trepidation. The sensors were useless. All her scans were being reflected back by the cloud, leaving the ship effectively blind. Hera had to navigate by sight only as she nursed the ship through the narrow corridor of the Kessel Run.

Behind her, Sabine, Ezra and Zeb were staring at the brightly hued purple, blue and yellow clouds in awe, the dust formations illuminated by ghostly lights echoing from stars within the nebula.

"It's even more beautiful than I imagined," Sabine enthused.

"Yeah. And even more dangerous," Hera replied. "Our sensors are useless. Navigation is practically non-existent. We're reduced to flying VFR. If we go off trail we risk getting lost in here. No wonder the Run is so dangerous. This is going to be a long haul."

"We should share the piloting," Kanan said.

"You might as well get some rest, Love," Hera told him. "I'll do the first shift. Relieve me in about four hours?"

"Will do," Kanan agreed. He swivelled his chair and left the cockpit, closely followed by Ezra and Zeb. Only Sabine lingered behind as she continued to admire the cloud's splendour.

Hera saw little during her shift to break the monotony other than the all-encompassing landscape of the nebula. There wasn't another ship in visual range for hour after hour and parsec after parsec. It was only when they were approaching the tightly packed asteroid field known as The Pit that another ship finally appeared on the skyline. Kanan had just returned to the cockpit to relieve Hera when the same saucer-shaped Corellian freighter they'd docked beside at Formos Spaceport flew into range.

The couple turned to watch the freighter drift past close to their port side. Hera stared at the freighter's cockpit and actually did a double-take when she saw who was in the pilot seat: It was Han Solo and the Wookiee they'd met in the cantina.

Solo gave them a cheerful wave as the _Falcon_ accelerated past, before it disappeared between the huge brown and grey chunks of cratered rock.

"_That's_ his ship?" Kanan scoffed. "It really is a piece of junk!"

"The _Millennium Falcon_," Hera remarked. "Apparently it's the fastest ship in this sector."

"Must be a very small sector," Kanan muttered.

* * *

**_Kessel, Kessel Trade Corridor, Maw Nebula – 16:50 Zulu_**

"_We're approaching Kessel. Everyone get up here_!" Kanan's voice echoed over the comm.

There was a mad dash through the corridors as the more competitive members of the crew, namely, Sabine, Ezra and Zeb, raced towards the cockpit. Sabine, incentivised by her strong desire to see the exotic planet, won.

The view that greeted them when they entered the cockpit was both beautiful and chilling.

Kessel, the deformed, unremarkable looking planetoid, hung in space, its tiny grey moon hiding in its shadow like a wayward child. The Nebula's gold and blue clouds encircled the entire system, completely filling the horizon. Far in the distance, the mouth of the Trade Corridor, the official route that allowed safe passage in-and-out of the nebula, was clearly visible. A number of ships could be seen heading towards the Corridor before disappearing into the gaping hole in the clouds.

The only other corridor in the seemingly impenetrable nebula clouds led to a vast expanse of darkness. At first glance it appeared the area was an empty stretch of nothingness, but as they drifted closer to the planet the truth became clear: That opening led to the Maw Cluster of black holes.

The crew stared as a swirling cyclone of ionised gases was suddenly sucked towards one of the black holes, encircling it like a colossal blazing halo; the swirling gases illuminating the lethal gravity wells in the Cluster. Huge chunks of rock were now visible in the light. The moon sized asteroids disintegrating against the immense gravitational pull of the black holes as they ripped apart any surrounding debris unlucky enough to be drawn into their orbit.

Even seen through the narrow hole in the cloud, the sight was truly terrifying.

Zeb gave an involuntary shudder. "Glad we're avoiding that area."

Shining lines of traffic moved constantly to-and-from the planet, overseen by two dagger-shaped Imperial capital ships that were patrolling Kessel's northern pole.

"That's Kessendra," Kanan said, pointing towards the city on Kessel's pole. "That's where we're going."

"You mean _past_ the Star Destroyers?" Ezra asked.

"Absolutely."

"They're gonna see us," Sabine pointed out.

"That's the idea," Hera replied. "We're hiding in plain sight."

Hera manoeuvred the _Ghost_ into Kessel's orbit, adjusting her flight trajectory to fly beneath the planet's southern pole and merge with the line of freighters moving towards the capital.

"Now we find out if this smuggler code is worth the price of admission," Kanan said. He flicked a switch on the console and spoke into the comm. "Flight control, this is freighter _Archeron,_ requesting permission to land at Kessendra Spaceport. Sending authorisation code now."

There was a long, tense silence while they waited for the reply.

Finally, a voice piped through the speakers. "_Access granted, _Archeron_. You are cleared for landing. Proceed to docking bay 42_."

"Roger that control," Kanan replied. Beside him, Ezra breathed a small sigh of relief.

"Well, so far, so good," Hera muttered as she manoeuvred the _Ghost_ into the planet's thin atmosphere.

* * *

The _Ghost_ passed through Kessendra's magnetic shield and descended onto the landing pad of Docking Bay 42.

Hera powered down the ship's controls as the crew looked expectantly at Kanan.

"I assume you have a plan?" Zeb asked him.

Kanan smiled and nodded at the Astromech droid skulking behind Ezra. "Chopper. Let's see it."

Chopper warbled happily as his holographic projector lit up, casting the image of a square frustum shaped armoured fortress into the middle of the cockpit.

"The Imperial Citadel," Kanan explained. "The seat of power for Kessendra and the Kessel system. From this building the Spice trade for the entire sector is controlled and monitored. It's also where the holocron is hidden. From what Hondo tells me, Roto Shar keeps the holocron in his own personal quarters, in the private wing just here." Kanan pointed to a corner of the structure.

"What are you thinking? A direct approach in the _Phantom, _like we did on Stygian Prime?" Ezra asked, referring to the _Ghost_'s attack shuttle.

Kanan shook his head. "No. The Citadel is heavily defended. There are way too many external sensors to guard against attack. We'd never be able to disable them all. They'd see us coming a mile off. Fortunately, there is another way in. Chopper?" The projection changed to show archive footage of a gathering of people taken from inside the Citadel. "Roto Shar is having an informal reception tonight in the main hall. It's an open invitation to all pilots, and a chance for the Imperials to solidify their power base. That's our ticket inside. Once we're through the doors, we scope out the place, raid his office, swipe the holocron, and make a swift exit. Walk in the park!"

Zeb shook his head. "I'm sensing a 'but' here. You say it's easy and then there's a catch. There's always a catch!"

Kanan glanced down, a guilty expression on his face. "Yeah, there is one small problem… The invitation is for humans only."

"_What_?" Zeb thundered.

"Are you serious?" Hera demanded.

"It's an Imperial ruling – on Roto Shar's direct order. If you're not human you're not getting through those doors."

"I know the Empire is oppressive, but _this_?" Sabine gaped. "This is low even for them."

"You don't have to tell me, Sabine," Kanan replied bitterly.

"Just another reason to tear the Empire down," Hera said firmly.

"You mean you don't need me for this mission?" Zeb asked in a low voice. He looked like he was barely keeping his anger contained.

"We need you for _every_ mission, Zeb," Kanan assured the Lasat. "But the Empire isn't going to let you show your face in the palace. You so much as set a foot on the grounds and they won't hesitate to shoot you."

"Let 'em try!" Zeb growled. "I can take any number of those bucket-heads!"

"Zeb, wait," Hera implored. "I don't like it any more than you do, but running in all guns blazing isn't going to work here. We're vastly outnumbered and in the heart of enemy territory. Even if you do manage to break inside the palace and steal the holocron, the Empire would simply lock the planet down. We'd never make it out of the nebula. We can't just jump to hyperspace. And they know this region a lot better than we do. This operation needs a certain tact and delicacy."

Zeb scowled. "You don't think I can be delicate? Just the other day, I used a Stormtrooper's own helmet to knock him out rather than shoot him. Don't tell me _that _wasn't tactful!?"

"I'm sure he appreciated the gesture, Zeb," Sabine assured him.

"We could dress you up in furs and say you're a tauntaun?" Ezra suggested with a wide grin. "You certainly smell like one!" he added under his breath.

"Yeah, and we could dress you up as a respectable member of society, but it wouldn't make you one!" Zeb retorted.

"Where's the fun in being respectable?" Sabine asked ruefully. "I avoid it whenever possible!"

"Enough!" Hera barked. "This isn't helping. Kanan, you take Sabine and Ezra to the Citadel. The sooner you retrieve the holocron, the sooner we can get out of the nebula. This place is starting to make me feel claustrophobic." Hera gestured at herself, Zeb and Chopper. "In the meantime, we'll stay in the Spaceport and maintain our cover." She swept her gaze over her crew. "We are supposed to be professionals, right? So, let's act like it!"

* * *

Kanan, Sabine and Ezra marched into the _Phantom_. Kanan sat in the pilot seat and fired up the shuttle controls.

"Do we really have to dress up for this event?" Ezra complained as he fidgeted at his collar. The outfit Hera had given him to wear was one of Kanan's smarter suits, and didn't fit as well as Ezra would have liked. He was constantly adjusting the long sleeves on the brown leather jacket to stop them falling past his wrists.

"Remember your training," Kanan replied. "If we've taught you anything it's that we have to blend in." Kanan had changed into a smart high-collared black jacket with black trousers and black boots. "Though, I think Sabine could have made a bit more effort!" he added.

Sabine was still wearing her custom purple Mandalorian armour, decorated with her own personal symbols and artwork.

"I _have_ made an effort!" Sabine protested. "I cleaned my boots."

"Might have been nice to see you in a skirt, though?" Ezra suggested.

Sabine looked at him askance. "A skirt?" she exclaimed in disgust. "What do you take me for? That's not my style. I don't even own a dress!"

"Next time we're on Lothal I'll buy you a nice one," Kanan promised.

"Fine. You can wear it then!"

Kanan laughed and detached the _Phantom_ from the _Ghost_'s rear docking bay.

The craft spun 180 degrees before lifting into the air as it flew above the Spaceport and powered towards the imposing grey Citadel fortress dominating the Kessendra skyline.


	3. Infiltrating the Citadel

A long time ago in a galaxy far,

far away….

**STAR WARS REBELS**

**The Kessel Run: Infiltrating the Citadel**

**_Imperial Citadel, Kessel, Maw Nebula, Outer Rim Territories – 21:30 Local Time – 04 BBY_**

The _Phantom_ descended through the planet's thin atmosphere to land on the open pad in the Citadel grounds.

Kanan turned to Sabine and Hera. "Alright, just follow my lead. If we keep this nice and discreet, we should be able to grab the holocron and be out of here in no time."

He flicked a switch on the console to unlock the rear hatch. The _Phantom_'s ramp lowered revealing a squad of Stormtroopers standing outside.

The armoured guards raised their blasters. The crew raised their hands.

"What ship are you from?" the lead Stormtrooper demanded.

"Our ship is the _Archeron_," Kanan replied promptly. "We were invited. I believe your Commander Shar is throwing a party?"

The lead Stormtrooper turned to the man on his right with a computer pad in his hand. "The _Archeron_?" he asked his subordinate.

The Stormtrooper with the pad nodded. "It checks out, sir."

"You're on the list," the leader confirmed. The Stormtroopers lowered their weapons. "On your way!"

The crew let their hands down cautiously. "Geez!" Ezra exclaimed. "What would have happened if we weren't on the list?"

"We're on Kessel. You _really_ don't wanna know," Kanan replied quietly.

He shepherded Sabine and Ezra past the guards towards the Citadel entrance. Overhead, other small shuttle craft were descending onto the landing pads.

The armoured fortress dwarfed the buildings around Kessel, resembling a grey pyramid with its top cut off.

"The Empire has no sense of style," Sabine muttered. "Everything they build is square and grey and _boring_! What this place really needs is a splash of colour…"

"Sabine!" Kanan warned out of the corner of his mouth. "We're not here to draw attention…"

"A few highlights here and there is all I'm saying," Sabine replied. "I mean, there are other colours in the spectrum. I bet you anything the inside of this place is decked out like a mausoleum."

A Stormtrooper at the main doors watched them approach and flicked a switch on the control box to his left. The heavy blast doors split open allowing the crew access. The trio took a few steps inside and stopped dead when they saw the main hall.

"I think you would have lost that bet," Ezra told Sabine.

Red!

The entire hall was swathed in varying shades of red.

A crimson carpet enveloped the floor; blood-red tables and chairs were spread around the room; scarlet drapes emblazoned with the Imperial crest hung from the walls. To crown the gaudy décor, the heads of slaughtered animals (and a few Wookiees) stared down at them from every angle. The vast hall was filled with humans from every part of the galaxy, attended to by a small army of droids who were busy serving food and drinks to the guests.

A silver protocol droid approached them.

"On behalf of the Empire and Commander Shar, I bid you welcome," it said in a feminine voice.

"Thank you," Kanan replied graciously. "This place is… memorable. Where is the Commander?"

"Commander Shar regrets he will be unable to attend tonight's festivities, but hopes you will enjoy all the hospitality Kessel provides."

"'hospitality' and 'Kessel' aren't words I thought I'd hear a same sentence," Sabine murmured quietly.

A red Astromech with a tray attached to its head appeared from behind the protocol droid, beeping politely as it offered a selection of canapés.

"Don't eat anything, and don't drink anything," Kanan warned as he waved his hand at the Astromech. They moved away from the droids, weaving through the crowd. Sabine was still gazing up at the display of stuffed heads in disgust.

"Who is this Commander Shar?" she asked.

"A trophy hunter by the looks of it," Kanan replied.

"Or a psychopath!" she muttered.

"Sabine, start a passive scan of the building, find us a safe route out of the hall," Kanan ordered.

"With pleasure," Sabine replied, nodding. She casually activated the portable scanner on her forearm guard.

Kanan glanced back at Ezra, noticing he was grasping a glass of sparkling wine between his fingers.

"What did I just say?" Kanan hissed to Ezra.

"It was handed to me," Ezra replied sheepishly. "And I thought I might look suspicious if I wasn't carrying something at least."

Kanan was about to confiscate the drink when a masculine voice sounded from behind him.

"Well, look at you. The captain let you off duty for the evening?"

Kanan turned. The smuggler Han Solo was standing behind him. He hadn't bothered changing for the event and was still wearing the same dark-blue trousers and cream shirt that he'd worn in the cantina on Formos. Sabine noticed Solo standing there and her face lit up. She grinned, pushing her hair away from her forehead.

"Don't you clean up nice?" Han commented as he admired Kanan's threads. "You could almost pass for a member of the crew."

Kanan drew himself up, looking Han in the eye. "It's a shame you couldn't bring your Wookiee bodyguard," Kanan retorted.

"He doesn't care for these Imperial shindigs," Han replied, grabbing a small morsel sized pastry from one of the passing trays. "The portions are way too small for him." He grinned and popped the titbit into his mouth.

"Plus, something tells me he really wouldn't be welcomed here," Ezra pointed out.

"Yeah, the Empire would probably shoot him, then display his head on the wall," Sabine said, gesturing towards the three stuffed Wookiee heads mounted behind her.

Han stared at the grim display and his expression darkened. "Trust me, anyone who tried to do that to Chewie would regret it. It's hard to kill a Wookiee when your arms have been torn out of their sockets!" he said heatedly. "I'd be the one doing it!" he added, before muttering. "Never liked these damned events."

"'_Never'_?" Kanan repeated quizzically. "What are you doing here then?"

Han shrugged, the easy smile snapping back into place. "To see what everyone's wearing this season," he replied smoothly "And I never pass up the offer of a free drink." With well-practised ease Han swiped the glass from Ezra's fingers and downed its contents in one go.

"Hey!" Ezra exclaimed.

"Maybe when you're a bit older, kid," Han declared as he placed the empty glass on a passing tray. "I gotta dash, but this has been fun." He slapped Kanan on the shoulder as he moved away. "Until next time, Cabin-boy!"

Sabine watched him leave; feeling a twinge of disappointment that he was going. A grin played on her face and a small sigh escaped her lips. It wasn't a sentiment shared by her fellow crewmembers.

"Jerk!" Ezra and Kanan said in unison.

"Are we still recruiting?" Sabine asked wryly.

"No!" Kanan replied firmly. "Get your head back in the game, Sabine. What'd you find?"

Sabine consulted her scanner. "The main doors are a no-go," she replied. "There are more guards in the corridor beyond and too many sensors to disable. "We'd never make it through without tripping every alarm in the place."

"There's gotta be a way inside," Ezra insisted.

"I think I've found one," Sabine said. "There's a service corridor leading out through the kitchens to the private wing. The droids use it to access the private quarters. It bypasses most of the security sensors."

"If in doubt, follow the help," Kanan said. "Alright, let's move. Try not to draw attention and make for the kitchens."

Sabine and Ezra nodded. They ducked into the crowd and headed towards the unguarded kitchen entrance at the far side of the room.

Kanan dodged a passing droid carrying another tray of drinks, and then led them through the swing doors.

The kitchen was a hive of activity. Small labour-specialist droids scuttled between the legs of taller servant droids toiling away at the grills, while a polished black protocol droid stood by the entrance directing the bustling action. It turned and saw Kanan.

"Guests are not permitted in the kitchen area," the droid said politely.

Kanan grabbed Ezra's shoulder and hauled him close. "Sorry, we're looking for the bathroom. My kid's got stomach cramps!"

Ezra rolled his eyes but dutifully held his stomach to feign being ill. "Oh! It hurts!" He dry heaved in a suitably theatrical fashion.

"My apologies, sir, but unauthorised personnel are prohibited from…" the droid maintained, but he was cut off when Ezra continued to retch dramatically.

"This is kind of an emergency," Kanan insisted.

"I think I'm gonna hurl!" Ezra said.

"Oh, no! It's going to go all over the buffet!" Kanan declared.

"I've seen him do it. He has excellent aim!" Sabine told the droid.

"Oh, my!" the droid exclaimed.

"Yeah, so unless you want to explain the mess to your boss, I suggest you let us by," Kanan pressed.

"Really quick!" Ezra added in a strained voice.

The protocol droid pointed at the far door. "There are restrooms available third door on the left down the corridor, but I must insist…"

But Kanan was already moving. "Thanks!" he called out, hustling Ezra and Sabine past the droids and out of the kitchens.

Once they were through the doors, Sabine turned her attention back to her scanner.

"That was easy," Kanan observed.

"Why do _I_ have to be the one pretending to be sick?" Ezra huffed.

"Because you look so convincing," Sabine replied with a smirk.

* * *

The Imperial guard turned away from the three humans on the security screen and called out to his superior.

"Sir! We have three unauthorized personnel outside the secure zone."

Commander Roto Shar cast his gaze over the live feed from the kitchen corridor. He stepped forward, grasping his pallid hands behind his back and settling into a comfortable stance as he studied the intruders on screen. A human adult male accompanied by a younger male and female were tracking through the corridors, following the directions of the female as the made for the private quarters.

Shar frowned as the female periodically stopped and sprayed a drawing of a violet starbird on the walls of his Citadel. The intruder was marking his nice clean walls with graffiti!

"Dispatch the cleaners to those areas after we've taken the intruders," Shar ordered. "I can't have them vandalising my Citadel!"

"Shall I dispatch the squad now?" the guard asked.

Commander Shar gave a slight shake of his head. "Not yet. Let's see what they're after. One of them may be exactly what I'm looking for."

* * *

The Citadel's Imperial private quarters looked more like what Sabine expected. The corridors were nothing but grey metal walls, interspersed with matching black doors, each as crushingly soulless as the last. The corridors looked identical save for the numbers to the side of the doors.

Kanan came to an intersection and glanced around to check the coast was clear.

"Which way?" he asked. Sabine signalled with her hand, indicating the corridor to the left. Kanan nodded and led the team down the corridor. He was a few paces from another intersection when he raised his fist sharply, signalling them to stop.

No-one moved.

Kanan concentrated, shutting his eyes as he opened himself up to the Force. A moment later his eyes snapped open again and he spoke, his voice no more than a whisper. "There's someone coming. I can sense it."

The team pressed themselves against the wall. Kanan drew his blaster and edged closer to the end of the corridor.

He hesitated for only a second, then swung around the corner, his blaster raised to confront the intruder…

… And found himself staring into the sights of another blaster. A gun was pointing directly at his head. Kanan stared down the barrel and blinked in surprise when he recognised the person wielding it.

Han Solo was standing in the corridor, his weapon levelled at Kanan.

"What are you doing here, Cabin-boy?" Solo demanded.

Kanan could feel his hackles rising. He continued to train his blaster at Solo's face. "What are _we_ doing here? What are _you_ doing here?"

"What do you think I'm doing? I'm looking for the men's room!"

Kanan glared incredulously. "Oh, is that right? You're just taking a break from the party?"

Han scowled. "Yes. Can you help me? I seem to be a bit lost!"

Neither of them had lowered their weapons. "Well, it's easy to get turned around in here!" Kanan replied heatedly. "This place is very confusing."

"I know! All these corridors look the same. They need better directions!" Solo stated in a loud voice. Sabine and Ezra gave each other a quizzical look.

"I agree. You should probably make a complaint," Kanan vehemently suggested.

"Well, that's a good idea. I might take you up on that!"

"I'm happy I could help!"

"Your advice is much appreciated!" Han yelled.

"Okay! Okay!" Sabine interrupted. "Time out. You've both made your point… and probably alerted half the Citadel at the same time! Didn't you say we shouldn't draw attention, Kanan?"

Kanan and Solo hesitated for a long moment before they slowly (and grudgingly) holstered their weapons.

Sabine nodded. "Right. Thank you." She pointed down the corridor. "We're going this way." She moved off. Kanan left to follow.

Han took a quick look at the portable scanner in his hand before trailing after the threesome. He caught up with them as they were standing outside a seemingly identical black metal door and sidled up to Kanan.

"Can I take it you guys are here for the same thing I am?" Solo asked.

Kanan frowned as he scrutinised the smuggler for a moment, then his eyes went wide in understanding. "You're here to steal the holocron!"

"Guess Hondo didn't trust me to do this alone."

"_Hondo_ paid you?" Kanan exclaimed.

Solo nodded. "Looks like we're both his subcontractors. Small galaxy," he quipped.

Kanan turned back to Sabine who was busy trying to access the office door. "Sabine, what's the hold-up?"

"I can't access the door from out here. It has to be unlocked manually from inside."

"We have to be inside to unlock it? That's weird," Ezra commented.

"Can we blast our way in?" Han asked.

"No. It's magnetically sealed," Sabine replied. "We'll have to find another way in."

"I think I've found it," Kanan said quietly. He was looking up at a small air vent in the ceiling directly above them.

The team looked up at the vent, and then, as one, all eyes were on Ezra; the smallest of the team.

Ezra heaved a sigh. "Is that all I'm good for? Crawling through the ducts?"

"Why do you think we brought you?" Sabine replied with a grin.

* * *

Commander Roto Shar leaned closer to the security screen as he watched the image of the two older males haul the younger male into the air duct directly outside his office. Shar straightened up, his lips pressed into a thin smile and an excited gleam in his eye.

"Shall I call in the guard, sir?" his subordinate asked.

Shar gave a curt shake of his head. He pointed at the image of Han Solo on the screen. "What ship is _that one_ from?"

The subordinate called up the details. A live feed of the _Millennium Falcon_ docked at Kessendra Spaceport appeared on the screen in front of them.

"His ship is registered as the _Stellar Envoy_," the subordinate said. "Although that may be an older designation. Or a fake name."

Shar watched as a Wookiee stepped out down the landing ramp of Solo's ship, and moved to supervise a shipment of crates being loaded onto the _Falcon_'s aft freight elevator.

"That's almost certainly a cargo of Spice. They're smugglers, sir," another of Shar's men observed.

"Call up the feed from the other ship," Shar ordered.

A second later the image of the _Ghost_ appeared on-screen. A female Twi'lek and a male Lasat could be clearly seen through the cockpit windows, waiting impatiently for their crew to come back.

"The ship is registered as the _Archeron_. But it doesn't look like they've taken on any cargo at all, sir," one of Shar's men said.

Shar didn't reply; he was too busy staring at the non-humans on the screen. Finally, after a long moment of thought, he reached a decision.

"Send a squad in to arrest the crew from both ships. Bring them in for questioning. They're not the ones I'm after, but they may yet be useful to me."

* * *

"Are you nearly there, Kid?" Solo called out.

There was a slight pause accompanied by the sound of several locks being unlatched.

"Almost…" was Ezra's muffled reply from the other side of the door. "How many locks does this guy need?" he muttered.

"While we're young, Ezra!" Sabine called out tapping her foot.

"Got it!" Ezra replied.

The doors slid open, revealing Ezra standing in the doorway.

"You guys are not gonna believe what's in here!" he said, jerking his thumb over his shoulder.

The team edged their way into the office. The doors snapped shut behind them and they stopped and stared.

"Well, this isn't what I was expecting!" Kanan exclaimed.

The brightly lit room was packed with relics.

Glass fronted cabinets filled with trinkets and souvenirs lined the walls and ran down the centre of the large room. Every available space was taken up with some sort of artefact. Looking closer Kanan started in shock as he recognised some of the items.

"These all belonged to Jedi!"

"Are you sure?" Sabine asked.

"Positive," Kanan replied firmly. He noticed a battle-scarred and badly damaged Kel Dor breathing mask in one of the cabinets. "That's an antiox breath mask. The label says it belonged to Master Plo Koon."

"This one's all lightsabres," Ezra said behind Kanan as he stared at a display of mounted laser swords in varying designs and styles, including a few double-bladed hilts, several curved or paired lightsabres that joined at the pommel, and a rare _guard shoto_ weapon, was also known as the 'lightsabre tonfa'.

Sabine finished daubing another starbird on the wall and peered at the broken remains of a strange bronze-coloured architect droid on display in another cabinet. The ancient droid had multiple arms mounted on its back and an eye-glass set above its right photoreceptor. Sabine glanced down; the label on the cabinet read: 'Professor Huyang'.

"Shar is a collector," Kanan muttered.

"Yeah, a collector of Jedi artefacts!" Ezra exclaimed.

"Okay, so he's a hoarder," Han said. "Let's get the holocron and get out of here."

"Over here!" Sabine called out.

At the far end of the room, behind a desk, was a collection of holocrons.

"These are all from the Jedi Temple," Kanan said.

"You seem very sure about that," Han observed.

"Trust me, I've done my homework," Kanan replied.

Sabine scanned the holocrons. "It's this one!" she declared, pointing at a blue and red octagonal holocron. It didn't take long to release the lock. They opened the cabinet and Ezra reached in to grab the holocron.

"Wonder what's so special about this holocron…" he mused.

"Doesn't matter," Han replied. "Only Jedi can open them. We're not about to find out in here."

"Yeah, right, no Jedi in here," Ezra replied cagily.

"Would be nice to know what we're risking our necks for," Sabine said.

"Best not to hang around," Han suggested. "We can discuss a cut of the profits when we're out of this place."

"Solo's right," Kanan said as he made for the door. "We go now."

Kanan hesitated. He stared at the polyhedron in his hands…

It wouldn't take long to open the holo-chronicle. Ezra cast a quick glance at Kanan by the door, facing away from him, before the Padawan closed his eyes and reached out with the Force…

Gradually, the corners of the holocron shifted as Ezra prised the Jedi record open…

The world was suddenly filled with light and sound!

Alarms were going off. Ezra's eyes snapped open in shock. The whole floor was alive with sirens and red light.

Kanan and Han drew their blasters, turning sharply towards Ezra and Sabine. Han noticed the partially opened holocron and marched towards Ezra.

"What did you do, Kid?" he demanded.

Han snatched the holocron from Ezra's hand, flipping it upside down. A small device was attached to the underside of the holo-chronicle.

"It's rigged! There's a sensor that trips when it's opened!" Han glared down accusingly at Ezra. "Are you a Jedi?" he asked.

"No!" Ezra exclaimed. "Well, not quite yet…" he added sheepishly.

Han looked sharply at Kanan. "Did you know about this?"

Kanan didn't have time to reply. The doors opened and several figures appeared in the room. Stormtroopers rushed in, levelling their weapons at the four intruders.

A cacophony of barked orders echoed around the chamber. "Drop your weapons! Don't move! Get your hands up!"

Kanan backed up, joining the others by the desk as the Imperial troops pushed them into the corner, completely blocking off their escape.

The wall of Stormtroopers parted in the middle as a figure appeared between them. A man in a grey Imperial uniform with commander's bars stepped into view, his pale face stretched into a rictus grin. Strangely, the man had a lightsabre strapped to his belt. Commander Roto Shar regarded the four intruders with interest, before slowly and deliberately grabbing the lightsabre in his right hand and pulled it off his belt.

He flicked a switch and a blazing green blade ignited from the hilt.

Roto Shar's grin widened as he pointed the lightsabre menacingly at the intruders.


	4. Heart of Darkness

A long time ago in a galaxy far,

far away….

**STAR WARS REBELS**

**The Kessel Run: Heart of Darkness**

**_Starship Ghost, Kessendra Spaceport, Kessel, Maw Nebula – 22:10 Local Time – 04 BBY_**

"How much longer are they gonna be?" Zeb demanded.

"Patience, Zeb," Hera said calmly. "It'll take as long as it takes."

"Yeah, right," Zeb huffed. "'Take as long as it takes.' Very helpful. You're starting to sound like Kanan."

A series of irritable chirrups sounded from Chopper, the little Astromech waving his maintenance arms in the air.

"You see? Chop agrees with me," Zeb proclaimed, before frowning and turning to the Astromech droid. "You were agreeing with me, right?"

"No, he was warning us!" Hera replied as she sat up in her seat. She looked at the _Ghost_'s exterior sensors, spotting the squad of Imperial soldiers swarming towards the ship. "Stormtroopers!" Hera called out. "I'm bringing the landing ramp up." Hera raised the boarding ramp.

Zeb stood and scowled at the armoured troops assembling on the landing pad in front of the ship. "What do they want?"

"Nothing good," Hera replied. Another bleep from the console alerted her to the Stormtroopers manoeuvring a mobile boarding ramp into position beside the Ghost's port docking ring. "They're trying to board us!" she warned.

"Damn it!" Zeb grabbed his bo-rifle. "Do you think they have Kanan and the others?"

"I don't know!" Hera replied.

"I'll hold them off. Get us in the air."

"We can't just leave them!"

"What's the alternative?" Zeb replied hotly. "We stay and get captured too?"

"_Surrender your ship, or be destroyed_," a voice suddenly piped through the _Ghost_'s intercom. "_You have nowhere to run. If you lay down your arms we will consider leniency_."

The alarms on the console were going crazy. Several red blips appeared on the sensor screen indicating enemy ships were incoming.

"We've got Tie Fighters inbound!" Hera said.

"What!?" Zeb exclaimed

Hera started to power up the _Ghost_. "Bringing the deflectors online."

"Hera!" Zeb yelled pointing out the cockpit window.

On the landing pad, the squad of Stormtroopers had formed up, levelling their blasters at the _Ghost_. Suddenly, eight Tie Fighters appeared above them, hovering over the spaceport as they trained their weapons on the ship.

Zeb smashed his fist against the console. "Now what?" he asked. His query answered by an echoing thud from the port docking ring as it was forcibly opened. They could hear the echoing thump of booted feet storming onto the ship.

"_We have you surrounded. You have ten seconds to surrender or we will open fire_!" the voice ordered over the speakers.

Fists started to pound against the cockpit door as the muffled shouts of the invading Stormtroopers called out to them. "Open up in there! Open up in there!"

"We can't surrender the _Ghost_!" Zeb insisted clutching his bo-rifle.

"We don't have a choice," Hera told him forlornly. She sat back in her seat, defeated and dejected, gazing at the distinctive profile of the Citadel dominating the Kessendra skyline and a quiet expression of regret escaped her lips. "I'm sorry, Love."

* * *

Commander Roto Shar slowly approached the four intruders, his lightsabre held out in front of him like a spear.

Sabine, Ezra, Kanan and Han raised their hands, trying not to provoke the small army of Stormtroopers pointing their blasters at them while the Shar stepped closer to the group. The Commander's retreating hairline was combed so close to his scalp that his jet-black hair looked like it had been painted on. He had a prominent, hawk-like nose and was clean shaven, which only served to emphasise his rather weak chin.

Ezra and Kanan eyed the lightsabres in the cabinets at the centre of the room. Roto Shar caught the sly glances directed at the weapons and grinned, the skin of his face stretching across his skull like a mask.

"I shouldn't bother. The laser swords have been deactivated. All except this one," he said indicating the lightsabre in his hand. He gestured expansively his left hand. "What do you think of my collection? Impressive isn't it? I get so little opportunity to show it off to visitors."

"Must have taken a while to assemble all this junk," Han said conversationally.

"Oh, it did," Shar verified, ignoring the snide remark. He stepped closer, nodding towards the display of holocrons behind his desk. "Those holocrons especially. Fascinating items. Only those attuned to the flow of the Force can read them. Which means that whoever opened it is a _Jedi_!" Shar pointed the glowing blade directly at Han and the holocron he'd taken from Ezra still grasped in his hand.

Han's expression was a mixture of disbelief and open contempt. "Seriously? You think _I'm_ a Jedi? Do I look like a Jedi to you?"

"Maybe if you squint really hard!" Kanan muttered.

"I knew my collection would tempt one of your kind here eventually, Jedi," Shar continued. "But you had to reveal yourself to me. So I devised this test. A door that had to be opened from the inside. You could have used your Force powers for that, but instead you sent the boy through the vents." He pointed at Ezra. "How very cautious. But you couldn't resist the holocrons, could you? They contain all the knowledge from your Jedi Temple. I wasn't sure which one you'd take so I had them all fitted with sensors. Which makes me wonder: why you chose to take _that_ one?"

"Hey, you've got the wrong idea," Han insisted. "We were just taking a stroll and got turned around…"

But Shar cut him off. "Don't patronise me! You are not here by accident." He turned, noticing the violet starbird Sabine had scrawled on the wall. "And you will pay for you wanton vandalism, philistine! There is a Jedi in this room," he added with evident glee. "One of you is Force-sensitive. And I will know who it is…" The Commander turned the blade on Ezra and waved it dangerously close to the young man's face. "One way or another…"

The team watched in alarm as Shar advanced towards Ezra with the lightsabre. His eyes widening, the young rebel tried to back away from the deadly blade of plasma, but Shar had backed him up against the holocron cabinet.

"Everyone talks eventually. They just need the right incentive," Shar said calmly.

At that moment, something caught Han's attention. His gaze flashed to Sabine and the small detonator she was holding in her hand. Han's eyes narrowed and he stared at the starbird emblem Sabine had painted, his mind racing.

"Wait! You don't have to do that, Shar," Kanan pleaded, keeping one eye on the heavily armed Stormtroopers still training their weapons on the team. "We'll tell you anything you want!"

Shar nodded, his eyes still fixed on Ezra. "Yes," he hissed, stooping lower to hold the blade so close that Ezra could feel his skin prickling under the plasma, "I know you will."

Ezra couldn't take his eyes off the glowing blade. He could hear the hum of the lightsabre intensify as the Commander lowered it closer. Shar grinned, the shadows cast by the focused beam of energy contorting his face into a hideous death mask.

Kanan opened his mouth to come clean… but was cut off by a voice from his left.

"Okay! You win," Han yelled. "It's me!"

Shar pulled the blade away from Ezra's face

"What?" Kanan looked at Han askance.

"You're kidding?" Sabine exclaimed.

"I think I peed a little!" Ezra confessed.

"Say that again," the Commander told Han.

"You got me, Shar," Han said shrugging. "I am the Jedi you're looking for."

* * *

"Keep moving, schutta!" the Stormtrooper ordered. Hera was shoved firmly in the back for emphasis.

"Touch her again and I'll brain you!" Zeb snarled at the Stormtrooper, only to have a blaster waved threateningly in his face. He gave a growl of frustration and continued to march.

The squad of Stromtroopers steered Hera, Zeb and Chopper across the Spaceport towards the far side of docking bays.

"Where do you think they're taking us?" Zeb asked Hera in a low voice.

"To the Spice Mines," Hera whispered back. "That's where they send all the prisoners."

"We're going to get out of this," Zeb assured her. "Count on it."

"No talking!" another of the Stormtroopers barked.

Hera took a quick peek at the Citadel in the distance. She fully expected to be dragged onto a waiting Imperial shuttle and sent straight to the mines (or to be executed, though she didn't want to say that to Zeb), so she was surprised when the Stormtroopers pulled up beside a familiar Correlian freighter and ordered them to wait.

"That's Solo's ship," Hera said, staring up at the beaten smugglers vessel. It looked like it'd had a hard life.

"What are we doing here?" Zeb asked.

As if in reply, a fierce growl sounded from behind the ship.

Chewbacca emerged from the ship, walking down the landing ramp flanked by four Stormtroopers; the Wookiee's wrists fastened together with silver bindings.

"That one give you any trouble?" the Stormtrooper behind Hera asked his fellow trooper beside Chewbacca.

"A little," the Stormtrooper escorting Chewbacca confessed. Hera noticed his white chest-plate was scuffed and dented. She smiled. Evidently, the Wookiee had given them _more _than a little of trouble.

"Any idea where they're going?" the armoured guard behind Hera enquired.

"The Commander ordered us to detain them here until he decides what to do with them," came the reply from the trooper beside Chewbacca.

Hera and Zeb exchanged a glance. They weren't going to the mines immediately it seemed. They still had time to find a way out of this…

* * *

Roto Shar advanced on Solo, the Commander grinning in triumph. "I knew it. At last! I never stopped believing one such as you would come here eventually." Shar took in the puzzled expressions of the other captured humans. "Look at your friend's faces. They didn't know what you were, did they? How have you managed to hide your true nature, Jedi?"

Han shrugged modestly. "Hiding stuff is what I do. I've had years of practice."

Shar looked Han up and down as if he was giving him a long and considered inspection. "Yeeess. You will be ideal," the Commander muttered.

Solo frowned. "Ideal for what?" he asked with suspicion.

Shar hadn't turned off the lightsabre and started twirling the Jedi weapon in a series of intricate and evidently well-practiced katas. The distinctive low hum of the weapon changed pitch as Shar spun and whirled the blade back and forth.

"After the Great Purge, the Emperor decreed that all surviving Jedi should be hunted down and executed. Your kind is nearly extinct, Jedi. You have become extremely rare. And, consequently, incredibly valuable to the right people." Shar stopped twirling the blade and pointed it at Han. "You know, I _should_ hand you over to the Empire right now. But I can't let an opportunity like this pass me by. It'd be too wasteful…"

Shar stepped closer to Han, the glowing blade mere inches from the smuggler's neck. He reached forward and prised the holocron from Han's unresisting fingers. "I see the potential in you," Shar breathed. "I can help you become immortal!"

Han met Shar's gaze, becoming slightly disquieted as he recognised the look in the Commander's eyes. It was the same look that some of the more _unhinged_ individuals and clients he'd encountered during his time as a smuggler had. There was obsession in those eyes. There was craving. But, most of all, there was madness. Han swallowed and leaned away from the fanatical Commander.

"_You_, Jedi, will become my crowning glory," Shar declared. "The pinnacle of my collection."

"I'm flattered," Han said dully.

"You should be. Imagine it: Your body preserved in carbonite. Frozen for all time. Immutable. Perfect!"

"And hanging on your wall, huh?" Han asked with contempt.

"Yes," Shar replied happily.

"Well, as tempting as it is to spend eternity as a collector's item, I'm gonna have to decline," Han insisted, fixing the Commander with a fierce glare. "I'm nobody's work of art, Shar!"

"Oh, I don't know," Sabine murmured quietly.

Shar recoiled from Han as if he'd been struck. "Don't try your mind tricks on me, Jedi!"

"You'd need a mind for that to work!" Han retorted.

"Enough!" Shar declared. He turned his back on them. "You are all enemies of the Empire. You have aided and abetted a fugitive from justice. There will be no leniency… I had hoped to take you undamaged, Jedi. But, I fear that will may longer be possible." Shar turned off the lightsabre and strode towards his men. "Take them to the detention block!" he ordered the Stormtroopers.

As one, the first rank of Stormtroopers advanced. They marched forward, training their rifles threateningly at the four intruders.

Kanan caught Sabine's eye and gave her a slight nod. Sabine acknowledged the signal and edged away from her drawing of the starbird, the detonator ready in her hand.

Kanan waited until the advancing Stormtroopers were almost next to the violet graffiti before calling out to the Commander. "Hey, Shar!" The Commander stopped and turned. "You know what's so great about street art? They make wonderful distractions!" Kanan nodded at Sabine, and she pressed the detonator.

The paint bomb exploded.

There was a blinding flash and thunderous roar as the advancing troopers were sent hurtling across the room, violet paint peppered across their armour.

The crew drew their blasters and all hell broke loose!

A Stormtrooper next to Shar went down under Han's blaster fire. The smuggler dived for cover behind a cabinet, while Ezra and Sabine overturned Shar's desk, taking refuge behind it. Kanan quickly sheltered beside another cabinet as he traded shots with the Imperial troopers.

The room was alive with laser blasts. One of Shar's precious displays burst open as a bolt ricocheted past him.

"Watch the artefacts!" Shar screamed at his troops.

Two more troopers went down under the rebel's fire. Han slipped from cover and winged a trooper by the door. Kanan finished him off with a precision shot that hit the trooper in the helmet.

"Not bad," Han yelled.

"You mean for a Cabin Boy?" Kanan retorted.

"Yeah!" Han replied with a grin as he fired again taking out another trooper.

Ezra rose from behind the desk to fire off several shots with his wrist mounted energy slingshot, while Sabine stepped out and sprayed the room with blaster fire. Two troopers went down, revealing the crouching figure of Roto Shar who was cowing behind them.

Shar screamed as another cabinet exploded. He dropped the holocron and fled the room, shielding his head against flying glass and laser bolts.

Only two troopers were left. Han and Kanan blasted the remaining enemy soldiers and then stepped out to survey the damage to the office. Miraculously, a single cabinet holding the remains of 'Professor Huyang' in the centre of the room was left untouched.

"Let's move before reinforcements show up," Han said. Sabine dashed past him to check the door. Spotting the holocron that Shar had dropped on the floor Han retrieved it and holstered his blaster before tucking the octagonal device safely inside his waistcoat. He turned back to see Kanan rifling through the wreckage of the holocron display. "What are you doing?" he demanded.

"Shar was right. All these holocrons are from the Jedi Temple. We've got to save as many as possible," Kanan insisted.

"Hey, we've got the one that matters," Han said. "All the others are worthless."

"Not to me!" Kanan snapped.

"Do what you like, just don't slow us down."

Kanan fitted as many holocrons into his pocket as he could. He thrust a couple at Ezra ordering him to hold them.

Han and Sabine exited the office, glancing up and down to make sure the coast was clear. A red light was still flashing in the corridors.

Han retraced his steps to the first intersection, only to pull up short when a familiar figure stepped out to block his path. Commander Roto Shar was standing in the corridor, the lightsabre ablaze in his hand and a maniacal expression on his face.

"You're not going anywhere!" he declared, flecks of spittle flying from his mouth. "Face me, Jedi!"

Shar started to wield the lightsabre left and right, sending the green blade through a series of perfectly executed swings. The blade whipped through the air as Shar cut and scythed the laser sword expertly around his body, demonstrating his evident prowess with the blade.

Han rolled his eyes, and in one smooth movement drew his blaster and shot Roto Shar.

The Commander went down without a word; not being a Jedi there was no way he could have deflected the blaster bolt.

Han holstered his weapon and turned to Sabine, muttering one last insult under his breath. "Idiot!"

Kanan and Ezra appeared behind them, their pockets bulging with holocrons.

"You took your sweet time," Han accused.

"What happened to him?" Ezra asked, pointing at Shar's prone form.

"He got cocky. Come on!"

They dashed past Roto Shar. Sabine gave one last hard stare at the results of Solo's handiwork and a quiet "Wow!" escaped her lips.

Kanan led the team down the red-hued corridors, glancing back briefly to see Sabine trailing behind. "We're gonna need an exit!" he yelled at her.

"I'm on it!" the mandalorian called back.

Sabine pulled out another detonator from her armour and activated it. The other paint bombs she'd scrawled on the corridor walls exploded, sending out shockwaves throughout the upper levels. A focused detonation at the far end of the corridor took out a rectangular section of the wall and natural light swept into the corridor.

Sabine accelerated past the group. "This way!" she ordered.

* * *

Hera saw the explosion from the docking bay. A bright flash blossomed on one side of the Citadel, near the top of the building. The Stormtroopers turned as the sound from the blast echoed across the landing pads.

The lead Stormtrooper immediately spoke into his transmitter. "CT-421 reporting. We just saw an explosion on the Citadel's north side. What's going on?"

"_The Citadel's under attack,_" a voice echoed from the trooper's helmet. "_We need reinforcements immediately_."

"Acknowledged. On our way," the trooper replied. He turned to his fellow Stormtroopers. "Blue team, with me. Red team, guard the prisoners."

The squad separated into their respective fireteams, the fourteen man squad suddenly reduced to just seven men watching the four prisoners. _Four against seven... _Hera thought._Much better odds than before._

Hera and Zeb watched the retreating fireteam double-time it towards the Citadel. Once they were out of sight, Hera gave Zeb a slight nod, then she glanced at the Wookiee. With Chewbacca's help they had a chance of defeating the Stormtroopers.

Zeb sidled up to Hera. "Kanan?" Hera smiled and nodded. "What do you think?" he asked.

"I think this calls for a certain degree of subtlety," Hera suggested.

Zeb grinned. "Subtlety, right. _My kind _of subtlety," he heartily agreed. Four of the Stormtroopers were still watching the flames from the Citadel. Hera backed up closer to Chewbacca, while Zeb cracked his knuckles together. One of the Stormtroopers saw the movement and raised his blaster.

"Don't get any ideas," he warned Zeb.

"I'm not the one you need to worry about," Zeb replied with a smirk. The Stormtrooper turned to Hera sidling up to the Wookiee and called out, "Hey!"

The Stormtroopers all looked at Hera; which was exactly what Zeb wanted.

With a snarl, Zeb grabbed two of the Stormtroopers by the necks and bashed their heads together. At the same moment, Chopper staggered the trooper next to him with a shock from his charge arm. Zeb lifted one of the troopers off the ground and hurled him bodily into the man beside Hera. Four troopers were down. In the ensuing chaos, Hera snatched up the blaster from the fallen Stormtrooper and whipped around to face the Wookiee. She held it against Chewbacca's cuffs and fired. The shackles disintergrated under the blast and the Wookiee was release.

Against the strength of a Lasat _and_ a Wookiee, the remaining Stormtroopers stood no chance. Zeb and Chewbacca made short work of them, scooping up their weapons as the armoured men lay prostrate and moaning on the ground.

Hera retrieved her C1 comlink from one of the prone Stormtroopers and spoke urgently into the transmitter. "Kanan? Kanan! Can you hear me? We saw an explosion. Was that you?"

* * *

Kanan flipped on his personal comlink as soon as he caught Hera's voice coming through the speaker. "Hera! I read you. We're making our escape now. Get the Ghost powered up. We need to make a sharp exit."

He glanced down at the drop outside. The explosion from Sabine's paint bomb had blasted a hole in the side of the building a good ten metres above the ground. Fortunately, the sloping side of the Citadel was a shallow enough angle that they could slide down it without injury.

Ezra and Sabine went first, closely followed by Han, but Kanan stopped when Hera's voice cut through the air.

"_They have the Ghost!" _Hera told him frantically._ "__Stormtroopers boarded us. They have it. We can't get to it_!"

"Are you safe? Where are you?" Kanan asked as he leapt out of the building.

* * *

"…_Where are you_?" Kanan's voice demanded through Hera's comlink.

"Still in the Spaceport. We're by Solo's ship," Hera replied.

"_Are you sure you can't get back to the Ghost_?" Kanan asked.

At that moment, Zeb grabbed Hera's arm and pointed down the far end of the Spaceport. "Hera. Look!"

Racing towards them from where the Ghost was docked, were two squads of Stormtroopers. Looking closer, Hera could make out several Tie Fighters being scrambled. One of the fighters rose into the air and started to scream towards them.

Hera knew there wasn't a hope of taking on so many enemy troopers.

She spoke into the comlink, her voice deadly serious. "I'm sure, Kanan. We're about to be overrun!"

Zeb nodded grimly as he watched the amassing enemy forces. "Well, we're farkled!"

* * *

**Author's Note:** _Thank you for reading, and may you all have a very merry Christmas._


	5. Escape from Kessel

A long time ago in a galaxy far,

far away….

**STAR WARS REBELS**

**The Kessel Run: Escape from Kessel**

**_Imperial Citadel, Kessel, Maw Nebula, Outer Rim Territories – 22:40 Local Time – 04 BBY_**

Kanan slid down the sloping outer wall of the Citadel and hit the ground. He rolled forward, taking the impact off his legs and instantly sprung upright, breaking into a sprint. Sabine and Ezra were not far ahead as they dashed towards the Citadel's landing pads with Han hot on their trail.

Without breaking stride, Kanan spoke into his comlink. "Hera! Get outta there!"

"_We're cut off_!" Hera's voice answered.

"Then get to cover!" Kanan ordered. "Steal a ship if you have to. Just get yourself to safety."

"_And leave you all in the lurch_?!" Hera replied. "_That's not gonna happen_."

Kanan caught up with Sabine, Ezra and Han as they hunkered against the Citadel wall close to the landing pads, the dock littered with shuttles. Sabine took a quick peek around the corner to survey the area, while Kanan eyed the smuggler suspiciously. He wasn't overly thrilled that Solo had retrieved the holocron; it meant that, like it or not, Solo was a part of their mission. At least until Kanan could persuade him to part with the holocron, or relieve Solo of it somehow. Though Kanan was loathe to use force, he was rapidly coming to the conclusion that it might be unavoidable…

Sabine turned back to the group. "The place is crawling with troopers," she whispered, gesturing to their shuttle on the far side of the landing pads. "We can't get to the _Phantom_ without being seen."

Kanan nodded. "We need a distraction…" he began

"No problem," Han said as he drew his blaster and popped around the corner, firing repeatedly at one of the empty shuttles. After several rounds of sustained fire the fuel lines ruptured and the shuttle exploded in an orange fireball, knocking several troopers to the ground. The rest of the armoured soldiers rushed to their comrades' aid and to help extinguish the flames, clearing a path to the _Phantom_.

"Yeah, that should do it!" Sabine said wryly.

"Go! Now!" Kanan ordered.

They ran.

Staying low they managed to stay out of the guard's line of sight and dashed onto the waiting_Phantom_.

Kanan sat down at the controls and powered up the shuttle. "We're in the _Phantom_," he said to Hera through the comlink. "Heading to your position now."

* * *

"No!" Hera told Kanan. In the distance more TIE Fighters were being scrambled. "There are too many fighters. You'd never make it. Get back to the _Ghost_. Don't let the Empire take her."

"_What about you_?" Kanan demanded through the comm. "

Zeb suddenly called out from behind. "Hera!"

She turned to see Zeb pointing at Chewbacca. The Wookiee was growling and gesticulating madly, signalling for them to follow him. Then he turned and disappeared up into the _Millennium Falcon_.

The screams of approaching TIE Fighters were intensifying. Behind her, she could make out the shouts of Stormtroopers as they closed rapidly on her position. Hera reached a decision. "We're taking the _Falcon_," she declared.

"_Wait._ **_What_**?" Han's voice cut through the air. "_You are not taking __**my **__ship_!"

But Hera was already on the move. "It's not like we have a choice," she retorted as she followed Zeb up the boarding ramp. She dashed through a hatch and into the Falcon's tubular ring corridor, the walls lined with small cream-coloured squares of padding. Hera stopped and frowned at the ship's unkempt interior. Exposed lines of circuitry and cables ran down the length of the corridor, and looked like they'd been modified or repaired countless times. The interior was nothing like the _Ghost_'s well-ordered corridors; plus, it smelt strongly of Wookiee! Hera wrinkled her nose. "Believe me, I'm not happy about it either!"

She followed Zeb down the access corridor to her right. Hera entered the _Falcon_'s cockpit to see Chewbacca already sat at the controls. Like the _Ghost_, there were four seats – two pilots and two passenger seats – none of them standard issue. The bulkhead was covered with instrument lighting and numerous displays. Hera also noticed the master control panel had been heavily modified into an intimidating assembly of levers and switches.

"_Hey, maybe I didn't make myself clear…_" Solo's voice began, but Kanan interrupted him.

"_Can you make it off the surface_?" Kanan asked.

"I think we can do one better," Hera replied. She slipped into the left pilot seat and flicked on what she presumed to be the deflector shield. Chewbacca had already powered up most of the systems. The _Falcon_ was much older than her ship, but since the _Ghost_ and the _Falcon_ were both of Correlian make, the controls were mostly recognisable to her despite the modifications. "We can take some of the heat off you. Get back to the _Ghost_ now!"

Chewbacca yanked the engine start levers on the console. The sublight engines came alive. Hera grabbed the control yoke and pulled back, lifting the ship off the landing pad just as a TIE Fighter flew over the ship, firing its guns relentlessly.

"_Are you sure about this_?" Kanan asked.

"Don't argue, Kanan!" she ordered. Another salvo of laser bolts strafed across the hull. "We'll draw their fire. You save my ship!"

"_Alright, Hera. Stay safe_," Kanan replied. She wasn't sure if that was an order or a plea.

"You too."

The _Millennium Falcon_ yawed around as Hera brought up the landing gear and closed the boarding ramp. She hit the throttle; the engines whined and the ship surged forward, flinging Zeb back into the seat behind Hera. Chopper trundled up to settle next to Zeb as Hera powered the ship away from Kessendra Spaceport.

She glanced down at the display monitor to watch the growing number of Imperial fighter craft following them.

"That's it, you Bucketheads. Come and get me!"

* * *

Han Solo was, to put it mildly, a tad livid. "What the hell does she think she's doing?" he yelled at Kanan.

"She's buying us some time," Kanan replied tersely.

Kanan banked the _Phantom_ towards the Spaceport. Through the view-screen they could see a large number of TIE Fighters lifting into the air in pursuit of the _Millennium Falcon_, and effectively emptying the spaceport of the majority of its fighters.

"Well, she can clear a spaceport I'll give her that," Han grudgingly accepted.

Kanan flew low over the runways and landing pads, brushing the tops of the buildings as he dived towards their ship. The _Phantom_'s wings folded into its body as the attack shuttle settled into the _Ghost_'s aft docking port.

A second later, the _Ghost_'s interior dorsal hatch flew open. Kanan slid down the boarding ladder, closely followed by Sabine and Ezra with Han bringing up the rear. Kanan burst into the main corridor. He knew the Empire had likely left a few Stormtroopers to guard the ship, but hoped speed and the element of surprise would overcome the Imperial soldiers. As luck would have it, only two Stormtroopers had been left to guard the ship, and they had been posted outside the boarding ramp to prevent anyone gaining access from the ground. When the guards saw the _Phantom_ docking, they'd hurried aboard, only to be met with a surprisingly spirited resistance from a group of heavily armed rebels. There was a brief struggle before the two guards were overpowered and quite literally thrown off the ship, landing in a dazed heap at the bottom of the boarding ramp.

One of the prone guards lifted his head to see a young woman in Mandalorian armour waving at them from the inner hatch. "Better luck next time, boys!" she called out happily. The Mandalorian hit a switch by the hatch. The boarding ramp rose, and the guard passed out just before the _Ghost_ lifted off from the dock.

* * *

Hera adjusted the _Millennium Falcon_'s flight path as they passed through Kessendra's magnetic shield, trying to compensate for the ship's modified power core and its surprising manoeuvrability.

The ship had the agility of a snubfighter half its size. Hera suspected that whatever Solo and Chewbacca had done to the _Falcon_ to increase its responsiveness it wasn't exactly recommended by the manufacturers, but she couldn't argue with the results.

"Whoa! This thing can move!" she exclaimed.

Chewbacca barked out a warning.

"I see them," she replied glancing at the threat screen.

"See what?" Zeb asked behind her.

"There's another squadron of fighters heading straight for us."

"I thought they were all behind us? How'd they scramble so many fighters?" Zeb queried.

"It's from the Star Destroyer," Hera replied as she pointed through the transparisteel window. A dagger-shaped capital ship was coming into view directly in front of them. Even from a distance they could make out a swarm of TIE fighters being released from the ship's ventral hanger.

"Where's the other one?" Hera asked, her query answered by Chewbacca pointing towards the entrance to The Pit. Another Star Destroyer was positioning itself close to the asteroid field, and effectively blocking their escape route.

Hera quickly summed up the situation. "We've got fighters tailing us, fighters ahead, and our way out of the nebula is blocked. Suggestions?"

Chewbacca and Zeb stared at the approaching TIE fighters. Zeb's eyes darted off to the one region of space that wasn't currently being blockaded: The entrance to the Maw.

"What do you think?" Hera asked again.

Zeb looked left and right as he weighed their options. "'Pick between One and Fourteen,'" he replied.

Chewie growled in what she assumed to be agreement.

Hera nodded. "I hear that!"

A barrage of laser blasts struck the hull both forward and aft. TIE fighters surged towards them. Hera pitched the _Falcon_ to starboard, barely managing to evade and outpace the squadron of attack craft as she set a course towards the Maw.

* * *

The _Ghost_ powered out of Kessel's orbit. The sky was alive with Imperial ships. A number of Star Destroyers were gathering at the entrance to the official Trade Route, moving to intercept several civilian freighters which had broken off from the main convoy heading out of the nebula – presumably in an attempt to jump ahead of the logjam – while one of the Imperial Destroyers that had been hovering above Kessendra was currently guarding the entrance to the Pit, and the other was moving rapidly off in the direction of the Maw.

In short, it was chaos.

"The ships are clearing a path. We have an opening," Han said as he checked the _Ghost_'s display monitor.

"Yeah, apart from the Star Destroyer blocking our way," Kanan pointed out.

"Details, details," Han muttered.

"I don't see them," Kanan added urgently.

Kanan and Solo sat at the _Ghost_'s controls; Han was in the co-pilot's seat, while Kanan had slipped into Hera's seat, refusing to let Solo take her station. Ezra and Sabine sat behind, watching the enfolding action through the cockpit window.

"Tracking multiple signals, but there's too much interference," Kanan stated. He was watching the display monitor carefully. "I can't pinpoint the _Falcon_'s location. Not through all this traffic."

"I just hope they made it out safely," Sabine said.

"We've got incoming fighters!" Han announced. Several TIE fighters were approaching directly aft.

Sabine pointed at the Star Destroyer guarding entrance to the Pit. "It's moving away!"

They looked up. The Destroyer was turning in their direction as it manoeuvred into an intercept position.

"No, it's coming towards us," Kanan said.

Kanan tried to roll the _Ghost_ to port, away from the incoming Destroyer, but the ship juddered violently as it remained on the same trajectory. Behind them, the TIE fighters opened fire, peppering the hull with laser bolts.

"They've locked on with a tractor beam," Han yelled.

Kanan uttered a silent curse and turned to Solo. "Take the helm," he ordered. "I'll man the gun."

"You want to attack a Star Destroyer?" Han asked in astonishment.

"That's the plan," Kanan insisted He turned to Sabine and Ezra. "Sabine, get on the dorsal canon. Ezra, monitor the power core."

"Couldn't I fly the ship?" Ezra asked.

"No!" Kanan and Han said together. "Just get moving," Kanan insisted. Sabine had already disappeared through the doors. Ezra followed her out while Kanan quickly exited the cockpit to man the main turret.

"This is a bad idea," Han muttered. The Star Destroyer was looming ever closer in the window.

After a few seconds Kanan's voice piped through the comlink. "_Spectres, report in_."

"_Spectre 5 in position_," Sabine replied.

"_Spectre 6 here. I'm ready_," Ezra's voice said.

"_Spectre 1 ready_," Kanan confirmed.

"'Spectres'," Han repeated in mild derision. "You think you're Special Forces or something?"

"_Cut the chatter_!" Kanan ordered. "_Just hold our course_."

"Not like I can do anything else," Han replied.

The Star Destroyer seemed to grow larger in the window. Kanan aimed the main gun directly at the tractor beam projector in the Star Destroyer's open ventral hanger.

"_Steady_," Kanan muttered.

The capital ship was almost upon them. At the last second, Kanan fired. The powerful blasts ripped into the vulnerable belly of the enemy ship, damaging the hanger and destroying the tractor beam. The _Ghost_ swayed as the tractor beam went down.

They were free.

Han veered the _Ghost_ away from the Star Destroyer, almost scraping the hull of the capital ship as he accelerated.

They sped past the Destroyer and reached the Pit. Han piloted the _Ghost_ into the asteroid field, shaking his head in amazement. "How much firepower do you guys need?"

* * *

The passageway to the Maw surrounded the _Millennium Falcon_ like a nebulous tunnel leading into the bowels of some monstrous warren. Several Tie fighters were in pursuit, firing repeatedly. Hera imagined the TIE pilots were not exactly enamoured with the idea of entering the Maw, and judging by the exclamations coming from people beside her, neither was anyone else.

Chewie made a series of grumbling snarls as he gestured wildly with his arms.

Hera stared to him in shock. "Whaddya _mean_ this isn't what you were suggesting?!" she demanded.

The Wookiee growled and grunted in response, his eyes wide.

"So, my _Shyriiwook_ isn't that good. So sue me!" Hera fired back.

The veil of clouds parted to reveal a vast expanse of space. Darkness surrounded the area, as if all the stars or any other forms of light had been forcibly removed from the entire region. Hera realised that wasn't far from the truth. A series of incredibly dense gravitational wells clustered around the region, visible only when a ring of ionised gas ignited around one of them, the inferno of superheated gases blazing with the heat of a miniature sun, or when gravitational lensing distorted an object behind the black holes. Meteorites and asteroids swarmed around them in a chaotic frenzy as the singularities tore the rocks and gases apart.

It was both beautiful and utterly terrifying.

The crew stared out at the maelstrom of swarming debris. Behind Hera, Zeb gripped his seat. "I've got a bad feeling about th…"

"Oh, belt up!" Hera yelled cutting him off.

She hit the throttle. The _Millennium Falcon_ surged forward at maximum velocity.

The_Falcon_ coursed into the teeming mass of asteroids, the TIE fighters hot on their tail. Hera banked and pitched, trying to evade the roaming asteroids. The Falcon responded better than she could have dreamed; its manoeuvrability outperforming anything she'd flown before.

Behind them, one of the TIE fighters flew too close to the gravity wells, losing several solar collectors from it right wing. Then the wing itself flew apart, tearing the craft in two as it spun away to be sucked into the debris.

Hera rolled to port, avoiding another large asteroid. Huge rocks were being ripped to pieces. Hera spun the ship; soaring between tumbling rocks and planetoids, narrowly avoiding being crushed against the shattered surface.

A band of ionised gas sliced through the field, almost striking the _Falcon_. Hera banked to avoid the deadly pulse of plasma. The TIE fighters were not so lucky. The superheated gases tore through the craft, evaporating their hulls in an instant. Other fighters simply crashed headlong into the asteroids. Very soon, all the pursuing enemy fighters had succumbed to the hostile region.

The _Falcon_ made it through the debris field to fly into a calmer region free of asteroids. They were now in the heart of a storm at the very centre of the Maw cluster.

Suddenly, a voice sounded over the comm.

"_Hera? Can you hear me_?" Kanan pleaded.

"We read you, Kanan," Hera replied, grateful to hear his voice.

"_We don't see you on the scanners. Where are you_?" he demanded

"We're, err… we're going through the Maw!" Hera responded hesitantly.

"_You're __**what**_?" Kanan exclaimed.

"_Are you crazy_?" Han's voice yelled.

"_What…? Didn't I…? Is that your idea of 'staying safe'_?" Kanan bellowed.

"Okay!" Hera interrupted. "Just so you know: The yelling is really not productive!"

"_Chewie, are you okay_?" Han enquired.

Chewbacca grunted in response, shaking his head.

"_The _Falcon_better not have a scratch on her_!" Han yelled.

"She has the aesthetics of a brick and you're worried about a few dents in the hull?" Hera snapped.

"_Yeah, 'cause she's __**my**__brick! I want her back in one piece,_" Han insisted.

As if on cue, a small section of the duralloy plating suddenly broke away from the _Falcon_'s right mandible and bounced off the cockpit window with a resounding clang.

"_What was that_?" Han exclaimed.

"Nothing that won't buff out!" Hera replied as she quickly switched off the comm.

* * *

Han sat at the helm of the _Ghost_, his face creased into a scowl. Almost without thinking, he rolled the Ghost between two asteroids as he attempted to evade the TIE fighters chasing them. He was feeling slightly flustered, which usually never happened. At the moment, he was fighting a confusing blend of emotions: There was deep admiration for the fact that Hera was piloting his ship through the Maw, combined with pure indignation because _Hera was piloting his ship through the Maw_!

Han shook his head trying to clear his head and barked at Kanan through the comm.

"Your girlfriend is something else!"

"_Who said she was my girlfriend_?" Kanan's voice replied petulantly.

Han sat up slightly, his interest piqued. "You mean she's available? Right, so, what's her thing? Clothes? Jewellery? Moonlight dinners? Do you know if she likes engines?"

"_Focus, Solo_!"

* * *

Zeb pointed down at the _Falcon_'s console. "What's that flashing?" he demanded.

Hera looked down at the console. The threat screen was going crazy!

They were approaching another chaotic debris field that stretched out before them like an impenetrable wall. The threat screen indicated several dangerous swirling eddys in the field preventing safe passage through it. There was currently only one safe route, and that was being blocked by a planetary body.

Hera looked up. Ahead of them, a small moon was spinning lazily within the debris field as it was caught in the gravity wells.

Hera's eyes widened. She looked on in horror as the gravitational stresses started to tear the moon apart!

A great seam opened up along the satellite's equator as the gravitational pull of the black holes split the moon open like an egg. Magma and mountain-sized chunks of rock exploded into the freezing void of space.

"Can you get any more power to the shields?" Hera called out to Chewbacca.

The Wookiee growled and flicked a few switches on the console.

"Guess that'll have to do," Hera muttered setting the repulsorlift engines to maximum.

"Hera! What are you thinking?" Zeb asked with suspicion.

"If we can't go around, we go through!"

Hera accelerated the _Falcon_ towards the shattered world, taking the only path available to her.

The split in the moon widened to a yawning abyss. It was so large now that Zeb could see clear through the planetoid. He grabbed the back of Hera'a chair and called out to her in growing panic. "**Herrraaaa**!"

The Falcon disappeared inside the moon.

They were surrounded by rock. The red glow of the moon's interior illuminated the various levels of strata. Hera rolled the _Millennium Falcon_ to avoid three spinning chunks of molten rock. The moon was no longer active but the planetary core still burned intensely.

Hera chucked the controls violently back and forth, pitching and rolling the _Falcon_ between continent-sized masses of magma.

The moon's strata rushed past them; the environment becoming a blur.

In the distance, beyond the intense glow of the mantle, was the other side of the moon. The engines groaned under the strain as Hera made a final spin to avoid another vast mass of crust before the _Falcon_ finally burst out from the disintegrating moon.

When Hera was satisfied they'd covered enough distance between them and the debris field she throttled back the engines. There was a long moment of stunned silence in the cockpit until Zeb finally broke the quiet.

"Did we just…?" he began.

"Yes!" Hera replied flatly.

"You're not planning on doing that again…?"

"No!"

Zeb nodded absently. "Good. Just thought I'd check."

Chewbacca released a few hushed growls, his eyes staring much wider than normal.

"Nervous?" Hera asked him.

Chewbacca gave a nonchalant shake of his head, attempting to seem aloof, although she noticed he was gripping the console so hard he'd left claw marks.

"You can let go of the controls now," she suggested.

Chewie shook his head vigorously as he barked out a sharp refusal.

* * *

The TIE fighters were nothing if not persistent.

The _Ghost_ rounded a smaller asteroid, closely pursued by a squadron of Imperial fighters. In the dorsal turret, Sabine was doing her best to keep the TIE's off their back, but was fighting a losing battle. There were too many fighters and the _Ghost_ was lurching around so much she couldn't get a decent aim.

"_Keep her steady_!" she roared at Han over the comm.

"Hey, if you think you can do better, be my guest!" Han fired back.

"The problem is most of the power goes to the _Ghost_'s forward guns," Ezra pointed out.

"The _Ghost_ is an attack craft," Kanan agreed.

"Yeah," Han murmured thoughtfully. An idea suddenly occurred to him. "Spin the dorsal gun forwards!" Han told Sabine.

"What? But they're behind us!" Sabine protested.

"Just turn it around!" Solo ordered.

Sabine hesitated.

"Do it, Sabine," Kanan told her.

"Alright, you're the boss," she muttered as she swivelled the dorsal turret forward.

"You better have a plan, Solo," Kanan said.

"Just get ready to fire when I give the word," Han ordered over the comm.

Han steered towards one of the larger asteroids. He waited until the _Ghost_ was skirting the planetoid, then he cut power to the main thrusters!

At the same moment, he turned off the repulsorlift engines. The _Ghost_ lurched sideways as it was caught in the asteroid's gravitational pull.

"What are you doing?" Kanan demanded.

"Showing you how a smuggler does it," Han replied.

The _Ghost_ curved to port as it sped into the asteroid's orbit. A quick burst from the landing thrusters sent the aft spinning out. The ship rotated 180 degrees until the bow was facing towards the enemy. The TIE Fighters sped around the asteroid directly into the scope of the guns.

"Fire!" Han yelled.

Kanan and Sabine let rip!

The _Ghost_'s weapons tore into the squad of enemy fighters as they rounded the asteroid, blasting the unshielded craft to pieces. Under the sustained fire of the main guns the TIE fighters didn't stand a chance.

Han activated the repulsors and hit the throttle. The sublight engines came alive and the _Ghost_ accelerated away from the debris of enemy craft and the pursuing Imperial fighters.

"That should take some of the heat off us," Han commented.

"Okay, that was _impressive_!" Sabine admitted. "And quite colourful!"

"It was okay," Kanan grudgingly admitted.

"_You need to fit a window down here_," Ezra's voice complained from the engine room. "_I couldn't see anything_!"

* * *

"There's the edge of the nebula. I see it!" Zeb called as he pointed out the window.

"We're almost out," Hera confirmed with no little excitement.

The wall of cloud that was the Maw Nebula was rapidly approaching. They had made it through the cluster of black holes. Some distance to the right, a small passageway in the cloud was clearly visible.

"There," Hera said. She rolled the _Falcon_ in the direction of the wormhole-like opening. The wall of cloud loomed ever closer until the _Falcon_ sped into the break in the nebula.

There was a collective sigh of relief from the crew.

Hera managed to relax her shoulders and sat back in her chair. She'd been hunched over the controls almost the entire journey and she knew her muscles would ache later.

"Not bad, Hera," Zeb said approvingly. "I'll never complain about your flying again."

"You've been complaining?" Hera queried. Zeb grinned wryly. "After this I think I'm gonna need a vacation!"

"Assuming Kanan gives you the time off," Zeb chuckled.

The cheerfulness was short-lived. A strange grinding noise resonated throughout the ship. Hera sat up again, her shoulders tensing.

"What now?" Zeb demanded.

Chewbacca and Hera checked the Falcon's systems.

"We're losing speed," she said. "The sublight drives are going offline."

"As if we didn't have enough problems," Zeb muttered.

The _Millennium Falcon_ exited the nebula passage and managed to join the smugglers route before the sublight engines finally failed, leaving the_Falcon_ dead in space… In the middle of the Kessel Run!

"We're drifting. Must have been the strain of going through the Maw," Hera said. Chewbacca growled in agreement.

They stood and left the cockpit at speed. Chewbacca led the way as they dashed down the corridor towards the main hold. Chewie pulled up by an engineering console and checked the readings from the sublight drive.

Hera looked around the large hold. It was empty save for the engineering station and a circular holographic board game with a crescent shaped bench to her right. Exposed pipes and looms of cables lined the wall. The hold had the same dilapidated appearance as the rest of the ship. Judging by how well the _Falcon_ had handled in the Maw it was obvious to Hera which systems Solo had spent most of his time and credits upgrading.

"You guys actually live like this?" she asked in astonishment.

Chewie turned and growled several times, his snarls sprinkled with soft yelps.

"What'd he say?" Zeb asked.

"The fuel intermixer's are offline," Hera translated. She turned to Chopper. "Chop, see if you can get them working."

Chopper warbled in agreement and trundled off in the direction of the engine room.

"Let's hope we aren't drifting for too long," Hera added. "We certainly don't want to attract any unwanted attention if we're here for…"

But she never got the chance to finish her sentence.

The ship juddered. A ringing thud echoed through the hull. Chewie looked up from his station and roared.

"What was that?" Zeb asked.

"Smuggler ships!" Hera replied. Chewie turned and bayed as he tried to power up some of the systems. "They're trying to board us," Hera added.

Another jolt almost took them off their feet. Sparks flew from the station. A loud bang echoed down the corridors. Hera and Zeb heard the sound of the port docking hatch being forced open. Booted feet reverberated from the far side of the hold. They drew their blasters. Chewie grabbed his bow-caster rifle from beside the engineering station, but it was too late. Eight figures came storming into the hold. The smugglers were heavily armed. They levelled their weapons at the crew. Hera recognised one of them. A Transdoshan with a missing eye was staring at her.

The Transdoshan stepped forward and grinned viciously as he levelled his blaster at Hera's face.

"Easssy pickingsss!"

* * *

**Author's Note:** _If you have it, I might suggest you crank up The Empire Strikes Back soundtrack as you're reading this chapter – especially track six: '__**The Asteroid Field**__'__. _

_The final chapter will be released tomorrow. __Thank you all for reading and may you have a very happy New Year. :-)_


	6. Into the Fire

**Author's Note:** _Eagle-eyed readers may notice that the climax of this chapter is somewhat different to the original draft. I always intended this story to be the first part of a trilogy, but for ages I couldn't make it work. It wasn't until I changed the identity of Hondo's contact that everything clicked into place and also helped this story fit into the Star Wars: Rebels continuity. I hope you enjoy, and a follow-up will be released in the future._

* * *

A long time ago in a galaxy far,

far away….

**STAR WARS REBELS**

**The Kessel Run: Into the Fire**

**_The Kessel Run, Maw Nebula, Outer Rim Territories – 21:30 Zulu – 04 BBY_**

The eight smugglers fanned out as they moved into the _Falcon_'s corridor. They men quickly disarmed Hera and Zeb. Chewbacca roared as three of the smugglers wrestled his bow-caster away from him while the Transdoshan leader continued to train his gun menacingly at Hera.

"Where'ss Ssolo?" he demanded. "Are you new owner of _Millennium Falcon_?"

"What do you uglies want?" Zeb demanded.

"Look who isss talking!" the reptilian leader drawled, seemingly amused by his own joke. "I no looker," he said as he gestured at his missing eye. "But I Twi'lek dancer compared to you, Lassat."

"Don't flatter yourself!" Hera snapped.

"We want the Ssspice," the leader announced. "That iss all. Your cargo, for your livesss. A fair trade, no?"

Chewie gave a warning snarl, his growl echoing around the corridors.

"Where the Ssspice? We take it. Then we go."

Hera, Zeb and Chewie didn't move; didn't say a word. The Transdoshan clicked his teeth in irritation.

"You no talk? Who want to be sshot first, hmm?" He stepped closer to Hera. "The pretty one? Would that loossen tounguesss?"

Chewbacca glanced at Hera; his eyes darting between the Twi'lek and the Transdoshan. Then the Wookiee's shoulders slumped and he lowered his head almost in submission. Chewie released a contrite growl followed by several baying grumbles.

The reptilian leader pointed to his right towards the aft cargo hold. "In there?"

Chewbacca nodded slowly, keeping his eyes averted.

"Take the Sspice!" the leader commanded his men. "Load it on ssship." He turned back to Hera. "Your friend iss very loyal. He probably sssave your life… Probably… Haven't decided whether I kill you yet!"

* * *

Sabine looked down at the warning alarms on the turret gun. The twin-lasers were rapidly overheating through continued use. The situation wasn't helped by the fact the TIE Fighters were relentless in their pursuit of the _Ghost_.

Sabine let off another salvo of laser blasts at the Imperial fighters, watching in satisfaction as she winged one of the Tie Fighters, sending it spinning off into an asteroid.

"We can't take much more of this!" she warned through the comm. "The gun's overheating."

"Just keep them off our tail as long as you can!" Kanan ordered.

The dense cluster of asteroids began to clear as the _Ghost _flew out of the field.

"We've cleared the Pit," Han announced from the cockpit.

"That's a good thing, right?" Ezra asked. He was hunkered over the power core, doing his best to nurse more power from drive. "It means there are no more asteroids to crash into?"

"Yeah, and no more shelter!" Han replied. "They can send as many fighters as they like against us. The Empire really doesn't like you!"

"You don't do what we do without making a few enemies," Kanan replied, almost proudly.

"I swear I am never getting involved with Jedi again!" Han muttered.

Another squadron of fighters surged out from the Pit. The enemy craft descended like a swarm of hornets, firing indiscriminately. The laser bolts hit the _Ghost_, scarring the ship's battered hull.

Han struggled to keep the ship level as the attack rocked them back and forth.

"And she calls _my_ ship a brick," he muttered. "At least mine can take a corner."

"We're too exposed!" Sabine called out. "We need to get out of range of their guns."

"Not much we can do about that," Kanan replied. "We're committed to following the Run."

"I wouldn't count on that, Cabin-boy," Han replied. "Setting course zero-two-zero." Han rolled the ship to starboard, heading directly for a bank of cloud.

"You're taking us into the nebula?" Sabine exclaimed.

"We won't be able to navigate in there, Solo!" Kanan pointed out.

"Well, it's a good thing you have me on board, isn't it?" Han retorted. "You don't travel the Kessel Run as frequently as I do without learning a few shortcuts."

Han diverted auxiliary power to the thrusters and powered away from the chasing pack of TIE fighters. A few seconds later, the _Ghost_ merged with the clouds and disappeared into the nebula…

* * *

With the crates loaded onto a repulsorlift pallet, the smugglers pushed the Spice through the _Falcon_'s main corridor towards the port docking ring.

The Transdoshan leader watched his men manoeuvre the pallet onto his waiting ship, keeping his gun trained on the captured Falcon crew.

"Isss that all?" he demanded of one of the Feeorins pushing the crates.

"There's another two pallets in the aft hold," his subordinate replied.

"Take it!" the Transdoshan ordered. He turned to Chewbacca. "Not your day it sseemss? Firsst your drive breakss. Then we take your Sspice."

"And we get to stare at your ugly face!" Zeb added.

"Har! Yesss," the reptilian smuggler agreed. "My face last thing you want to ssee, I imagine?"

"Well, we've seen plenty of ugly things in the Maw, your face just rounds off our day!" Hera retorted.

The leader started in surprise. "You flew through the Maw?" he asked. Hera nodded. The leader waved his blaster at Chewie. "Iss thiss right? Truly?" Chewbacca growled and nodded vigorously.

"Wellll, wasssn't that fortunate? For usss!" the Transdoshan drawled. "Now we take Sssolo'ss cargo. All becaussse his Wookiee friend took _Millennium Falcon_ through the Maw. Big missstake!"

Chewbacca shook his head and growled as he pointed at Hera. The Transdoshan one good eye widened as he gazed at Hera with renewed interest.

"_You_ piloted Ssolo'ss ssship?" Hera shrugged modestly. The Transdoshan pulled back his wide lips in a nasty grin. "We have contacts that would pay big credits for ssskilled pilot like you, pretty-one. I think you come with ussss!"

Zeb took a step forward. "That's not going to happen. You'll have to go through me first!" he threatened.

The Transdoshan shrugged and pointed his blaster at Zeb's head. "That can be arranged, Lassat. Your kind iss rare, but far too ugly to bring good price in marketsss…"

Behind the Transdoshan, the last of the crates was being transferred onto the smuggler's ship.

"All the crates are stowed aboard," one of the Feeorins advised the leader. "We should leave now before other ships arrive."

"Very well," the leader said. He pointed at Hera. "We take thiss one with usss."

The rest of the smugglers filed into the main hold behind the Transdoshan, his blaster still pointed at Zeb's face. "Do not get any ideass," he warned Zeb.

The smugglers approached, ready to grab Hera when a male voice rang out from the Transdoshan's comlink.

"_Sir, we have a problem here_!" The man's voice sounded worried.

The leader sighed and pulled the comlink from his belt. "What'sss the problem?"

"_Another ship is coming into range_!" the voice on the other end said.

The Transdoshan flushed a deeper green. "Hssss. Ssenssorss are on full. Why didn't you ssee it before?"

"_Because it's not coming through the Run. It's from __**inside**__the nebula_!"

The Transdoshan rushed past them and dashed into the _Falcon_'s cockpit to stare through the window at the glowing nebula illuminated in stunning shades of blue and gold.

At first he couldn't see any other ships in the region other than his own raiding craft. He was about to yell into his comlink, but stopped when he spotted something. A shadow was forming behind the clouds directly ahead; there was something approaching them at speed.

The reptilian leader tensed and was about to order his men to defend themselves when a Correllian freighter erupted through the golden wall of dust. He recognised it as same the freighter he'd seen on Formos. It was the Twi'lek's ship!

* * *

The _Ghost _emerged from the nebula. Han Solo was at the helm, while Kanan manned the gun port below the cockpit. Han and Kanan took in the scene in an instant. Three smuggler's ships had surrounded the _Millennium Falcon_, and one of them, a heavily modified XS stock light freighter, had attached itself to the _Falcon_'s port docking ring.

"Three vessels. All heavily armed. One attached to the _Falcon_," Han said as he read from the display monitor. "They're trying to board her and steal from my ship!"

"We won't give them the chance!" Kanan promised.

He opened fire, his face contorted into a mask of barely suppressed fury as he targeted the ship closest to them. The blasts from the _Ghost_'s cannon ripped into the ship's hull, destroying the engines and tearing off part of the armour plating. The damaged ship listed as the Ghost swept over it already focused on its sister ships.

In the _Falcon_, the Transdoshan reacted. He turned and ran into the main hold, ordering his men back onto his ship.

"Sssorry, pretty-one," he said to Hera. "Have to go now. Sssee you sssoon."

The smugglers evacuated back through the docking ring. The inner hatch snapped closed and there was a shuddering bang as the smuggler ship detached from the _Falcon_.

Hera moved. Dashing back to the cockpit, she sat in Han's chair and tried to divert power to weapons.

Chewbacca slid back into his seat and barked as he read from the monitors.

"Power's rerouting. It's just the drive systems still aren't functional." She hit the comm. "Chopper! Where are you?"

A deep warble sounded over the speakers. Hera breathed a sigh of relief as Chopper twittered and chirruped.

"Understood," Hera told him. She turned to Zeb. "He's almost got the drive fixed. Apparently, the smugglers just ignored him when they entered the aft hold."

"Guess that bucket of bolts is good for something!" Zeb jokingly grumbled.

Hera glanced out of the window. Outside the battle was raging. The _Ghost_ had already disabled one of the smuggler's ships, and was firing at a second craft that exploded under the onslaught from the main gun. The Ghost turned and engaged the Transdoshan's XS light freighter in a dog-fight.

"_Hera! Are you okay_?" Kanan's voice piped over the comm. The sound of cannon fire could be heard in the background. Hera guessed he was manning the main gun.

"We're good," she responded. "But the _Falcon_'s drive is down. We need a couple of minutes to get it fixed."

"_We don't have a couple of minutes_!" Han's voice countered. "_There are more ships on their way_!"

Hera checked the threat display. Even with the sensors on maximum it was difficult to cut through the interference from the nebula, but she could make out at least four ships on an intercept course.

Hera turned to Zeb. "Go and help Chopper!" she told him. He stood and made for the door. "It's all down to how fast you can get the drive…" But a sudden wailing interrupted her. The drive engines came back to life and the ship lurched as acceleration took hold. Hera clung to her seat; Zeb landed face down on the floor.

"Did I say that bucket of bolts was worth something?" Zeb mumbled from a somewhat prone position.

"You did," Hera reminded him ruefully. "Drive engines are back online," Hera announced to the Kanan and Han. "Well done, Chopper!"

She was already swinging the _Falcon_ around when Kanan's voice sounded over the speakers. "_Get back to Formos. We'll sort everything out there. Don't stop until you're out of the nebula_!"

"You don't have to tell me twice." Hera gunned the throttle and the _Falcon_ shot forward.

Han disengaged from their battle with the smuggler's ship and trailed after the _Falcon_, leaving only the wreckage of two vessels and one badly damaged XS freighter in their wake.

"_I almost regret not finishing them off_," Sabine said over the comm.

"_Don't worry_," Han replied. "_When those other ships reach them, they'll probably wish we _**_had_**_finished them off_."

Travelling in convoy formation, the two Corellian ships set a course out of the nebula.

* * *

**_Formos, Kessel Sector, Outer Rim Territories – 08:30 Local Time_**

With landing jets gushing out quick bursts of flame, Hera settled the _Millennium_ _Falcon_ down gently on the landing pad of Formos Spaceport.

Beside it, Kanan, having taken over from Han at the helm, eased the _Ghost_ into the next berth.

The ships powered down and the boarding ramps lowered. Han was the first to exit the _Ghost_. He ran down the ramp and rushed over to the _Falcon_, examining the undercarriage and ventral armour for signs of damage, muttering to himself heatedly.

Hera sauntered down the Falcon's boarding ramp. Zeb and Chopper followed her, while Chewbacca ambled behind them. The Wookiee made a bee line for Solo.

Kanan ran out onto the landing pad and rushed up to Hera. He embraced her openly, holding her tight, and breathing a small sigh of relief.

"Are you okay?" he asked quietly.

"Never better, Love," Hera replied happily.

Kanan regarded Hera for a long moment. Then he looked down, clearing his throat. "I think the _Ghost_ might need a little bit of work. I tried to keep her out of trouble but I'm not the pilot you are."

Hera grinned and nodded. "I didn't exactly stay out of trouble myself. But after this little escapade I'm certainly going to have a greater appreciation for the old girl!"

They grinned, savouring the moment. Unfortunately, the moment was interrupted by a shout behind them.

"What have you done to my ship?" Han accused Hera. "There's impact craters, carbon-scoring, and…" He stopped and stared at a peculiar shaped burn near the _Falcon_'s right mandible. "…Is that…? "Are those _lava burns_?" he exclaimed.

"Lava?!" Kanan asked her.

Hera smiled. "Long story. I'll explain later," she said.

Kanan's face grew serious. He leaned in and whispered in Hera's ear. "Solo has the holocron."

Hera paused before nodding in understanding. They were going to need to retrieve it from Han somehow.

She looked back. Chewbacca was growling animatedly as he showed Han something in his hand. Looking closer, Hera noticed the Wookiee was holding a portable sensor log. Han stared at the sensor log, hardly seeming to believe his eyes. He suddenly looked up at Hera.

"_Eleven point five parsecs_?!" Han yelled in astonishment. "Are you telling me you made the Kessel Run in _less than 12 parsecs_?!"

"You're welcome," Hera said and saluted Han cheerfully.

"_What was that_?" a voice shouted from their left. Two pilots, a female rodian and a male togruta, were jogging over to see what all the fuss was about. They too looked at the sensor log.

"Well, I'll be damned!" the togruta exclaimed. "It's true. 11.5 parsecs."

"_Which ship did that_?" the rodian asked in Rodese.

Chewbacca pointed, with no little pride, at the _Millennium Falcon_. Other pilots and crew were hurrying over now.

Hera and Kanan edged away from the growing crowd and sidled up to join Sabine, Ezra, Zeb and Chopper by the _Ghost_'s boarding ramp.

"We still need to get the holocron," Kanan said quietly.

"We can't just take it from him," Sabine pointed out. "He's… been an ally. We couldn't have done it without him. Without them both."

"Well, we're not going back empty-handed," Zeb put in. He cracked his knuckles. "Maybe he'd respond to more subtle methods?"

"Zeb!" Hera warned.

"What?" Zeb shrugged. "Just a suggestion."

Ezra had been watching Han closely as they were talking. Without a word, he broke away from the group and strode towards Han.

He could hear Solo talking to Chewbacca as he approached.

"…What about the Spice?" Han asked his friend.

The Wookiee growled softly in Han's ear. Han smiled and slapped Chewie on the arm, giving him a slight nod. Chewie inclined his head in Ezra's direction.

Han turned to face Ezra. "You were pretty good out there, kid," he said. "You'd make a good smuggler."

"Thanks. You were pretty good there yourself.

"After all these years of practice I should damn well hope so!" Han replied.

"We couldn't have done it without you."

"Hey, listen… anytime you want to jump ship, there's plenty of space in the _Falcon_. As long as you stay out from under feet!"

Ezra smiled but shook his head. "Thanks, but I've already got a space waiting for me…"

Han looked at the Ghost crew. "Yeah, you have." He looked down briefly before glancing up, his eyes darting between Ezra and his crew. He seemed to be struggling with a decision. Finally, Han reached into his jacket pocket and retrieved the holocron.

He turned the Jedi chronicle over in his hands before, as if against his better judgement, he tossed it to Ezra. "Here you go. You probably need it more than I do." Ezra caught the holocron and stared in astonishment. "Go on, before I change my mind."

Ezra held the holocron in his hands like a prize. "Maybe we'll see you around?" he asked.

"Don't count on it," Han replied. He waved Ezra away. "You be careful out there, kid."

Ezra hurried back to join the crew. They hastily boarded the Ghost, piling into the cockpit as Hera slipped back into her seat and lifted her beloved ship away from the Spaceport.

"So, what, did you use a mind trick on him or something?" Sabine asked Ezra as they powered away from Formos.

Ezra shook his head. "No, he just gave it to me."

"Just like that?" Zeb exclaimed. "? Now he's lost the Spice _and_ the holocron. Pretty selfless behaviour for a smuggler."

"Maybe he has hidden depths?" Hera suggested.

"I doubt it," Kanan muttered. "He's got to have an angle somewhere."

"Or he is indeed a man of mystery…" Sabine mused softly. "It's quite… intriguing."

* * *

The Transdoshan leader raised up an exposed cable, trying to fit it back into the wall of his ruined freighter. The attack had left his ship dead in space, with only minimal life-support and both weapons and the drive core disabled. He knew they wouldn't last long in the nebula in the state they were in, and it wasn't long before he heard the words he'd been dreading from his comm-officer.

"Sir! We've got smuggler ships incoming. They know we're drifting and are demanding we hand over our cargo. In return, they've agreed not to destroy us!"

The Transdoshan hissed furiously. His love of credits was strong, but his love for his continued existence was marginally stronger. After a momentary pause of consideration, he nodded.

"Yesss!" he said. "We will give them Sssolo's cratess. It iss no great losss. There will be other ssshipss. Other cargoss."

The Transdoshan moved over to the crates of Spice. He unfastened the containers to take one final look at the precious cargo.

"Contact them. Tell them we agree to hand over the…" Then he stopped, staring down into the opened crate.

It was empty!

"No!"

He moved to another crate and flung open the lid. It was also empty.

On further inspection, they discovered that _all_ of the crates were completely hollow.

They'd been deceived.

Shaking with incredulous rage, the Transdoshan threw back his head and screamed out a name with the same ferocity as an obscenity.

"**SSSOLO**!"

* * *

Han and Chewie lifted up the deck plating in the _Millennium Falcon_'s main corridor. The insulated black flooring parted to reveal the smuggling compartment hidden beneath, and the contents Chewbacca had secreted there: The Spice.

The two smugglers stared down at the prize. It was a precaution Han had developed after many years of doing the Kessel Run. The crates would be emptied before travelling the back to Formos in order to prevent the Spice falling into other smuggler's hands. Before today, they'd never had a problem with smugglers. But still, it was best to be prepared.

"Good job, Chewie!" Han congratulated, smacking the Wookiee on his arm.

Chewbacca growled happily as he looked down at their shipment. At least they had a substantial cargo to take to their paymaster.

"Jabba's gonna pay handsomely for this lot."

* * *

"Sabine?" Hera called out. "Sabine, you in there?"

"Yeah," Sabine replied. "Come on in. I was concentrating."

Hera opened the door to Sabine's room to find the young mandalorian engrossed in a mural she was painting on the wall.

Hera paused as she admired the work. Even by Sabine's standard the mural was intricately detailed. It was a magnificent rendition of the _Millennium Falcon_ and the _Ghost_ flying through the chaotic splendour of the Maw Nebula… with Hera at the helm of the _Falcon_.

"That's probably one of your best works," Hera said approvingly.

In the Ghost, Han, Kanan and Sabine were clearly visible manning their station.

"I don't think you got my nose right," Kanan said from the doorway. Hera turned. Ezra was standing by Kanan's side, appreciating Sabine's handiwork.

"How come I'm not in there?" Ezra demanded.

"I paint what I see," Sabine explained. "And you were in the engine room at the time. So, you are there, but in spirit."

"Great!" Ezra said without enthusiasm.

"Of course, I've also been working on this." Sabine pointed at another painting to her right.

On the wall opposite her bunk was an impressively detailed life-size depiction of Han Solo. The smuggler was standing nonchalantly as he looked straight ahead, his hand grasping his blaster and a slight smile creeping on his lips.

"You had time to paint _him_, I see," Ezra pointed out.

"Well, I was inspired. He had a big impact on me… on the mission!" Sabine corrected hastily. "I felt it was important to give him his due."

In unison, Kanan and Ezra gave a harrumph of displeasure before moping out of the room, leaving Hera and Sabine to stare at the full-scale relief. Hera waited until Sabine's door had slid shut before she added:

"Plus, he is kinda cute!"

"Yeah, that too!" Sabine agreed.

Hera found Kanan in the cockpit, idly monitoring the instruments, and sitting with his head resting on his fist.

"How long before we rendezvous with Hondo?" she asked.

"About an hour," Kanan said without looking round.

"You seem troubled," Hera observed. "We got the holocron, and possibly made a couple of allies along the way."

"That's what worries me," Kanan replied. "Men like that… they only look out for themselves. They don't think about others."

"I don't know, he did give us the holocron, no questions asked."

"An exception that proves the rule. Trust me, the man is a scoundrel!"

"Yeah, well, maybe I like scoundrels," Hera replied as she turned to leave. Then she stopped and hovered in the doorway before adding. "After all… I like you, don't I?"

She swept out and the door slid shut behind her.

As Hera's words sank in, Kanan allowed himself a small, self-satisfied smirk.

Gradually, the smile playing on his lips broke into a brazen grin.

* * *

**_Nar Shaddaa, Y'Toub System, Hutt Space – 10:10 Local Time_**

Hondo Ohnaka swept through the entrance of _The Towering Spire _bar, ignoring the hush that settled in the room as marched up to the bar and ordered the strongest drink available. The barman poured a blue liquor into a filthy-looking glass and handed it over. Hondo knew from experience that the alcohol would kill any lingering bacteria in the glass (along with a few brain cells), and duly took the glass before making his way to the corner booth.

His contact was already waiting for him and he settled into the seat directly opposite her.

"Were you successful?" the hooded woman asked.

In reply, Hondo reached into his jacket and placed a small octagonal box on the table.

"Delivered as ordered, my dear."

His contact opened the lid a fraction to check its contents, then snapped it shut again.

"So, your extraction team came through?" The woman sounded impressed.

"One of the teams, yes."

"_One_ of them?" the woman asked.

"Of course. You don't think I'd leave it in the hands of just one crew, did you? I sent two teams out to retrieve it. Chances were one of them would recover the item. I always play the odds, my dear."

"You get results, Hondo, that's one good thing about you."

Hondo gazed down at the small box concealing the prize within.

"Can you reveal why this little trinket was worth all the trouble?" he asked.

"You know better than to ask questions like that," the woman replied curtly.

Hondo nodded resignedly. "Ah, you can't blame an old weequay for being curious."

"That kind of curiosity is not healthy!" she warned.

"I will try to contain my disappointment," Hondo replied with a wry grin. "I suppose our temporary alliance is at an end?"

"It is."

"A shame. I do enjoy your company. Life is so much more interesting when you're around. Well, until next time…"

"There won't be a next time…"

"Then I can only hope the fates align to bring us together once more, my dear." Hondo lifted his shot glass between finger and thumb. "To your good health." He raised the glass to his lips and drained the liquor in one gulp.

As he drank, the woman quickly secreted the box away within her robes. Hondo glanced slyly across the table. For a split second he caught a glimpse of her shoulder-length silver-blond hair and alabaster skin that identified her species as Dathomirian. She drew her cloak back into place and the flash of white skin quickly vanished from view.

Hondo chanced a grin as he gazed wistfully at what little he could see of her attractive face beneath the hood; her chin was lined with thin dark marks and her cold blue eyes glaring at him.

He rose from his seat, giving the woman a partly deferent, partly mocking bow of farewell.

"And if I may be so bold, you look remarkably healthy for a dead woman… _Asajj Ventress_."

**STAR WARS: REBELS**

* * *

**To be continued in:**

**FLIGHT OF THE FALCON**


End file.
